Putin states concern on South Ossetia
Channel One TV, Moscow
20 Aug 04
[Presenter] The situation in South Ossetia was one of the main
subjects at the final news conference of the Russian and Armenian
presidents. Negotiations are the only way to settle the
Georgia-Ossetia conflict, Vladimir Putin said. The president restated
his view that Tbilisi’s actions in the 1990s, when Abkhazia and South
Ossetia were stripped of their status as autonomies, had been
mistaken.
[Putin] The situation is tense and concerns us. A decision about South
Ossetia was taken, and it is absurd to dispute that. Appropriate
documents exist, and we even have copies of those documents. They
abolish the autonomous status of South Ossetia. These documents were
signed by [Georgia’s late ex-President Zviad] Gamsakhurdia. We can
present these to journalists.
I can tell you that in conversations I have had with Mikhail
Nikolayevich Saakashvili [Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili] he
also said he thought these decisions were wrong.
As for a way out of this situation, there can be only one way out –
one needs to sit down at the negotiation table, which is the first
thing. Second, one needs to know how to come to agreement and, third,
to have the political will to carry out these accords.
If, on the other hand, everything goes on as it has done recently,
with the commission agreeing on something in the morning and in the
evening these accords being disavowed by other representatives of that
state, it is impossible for anyone to get anything done under those
conditions and, of course, there will be no result. We very much hope
that all parties to the process will show political maturity and
responsibility.

Everywhere is packed in Cyprus in August – except for Nicosia
Irish Times
Aug 20, 2004

Cyprus Letter/Michael Jansen: August is the month for staying home in
Cyprus. It is almost impossible to leave the island. Airlines are
overbooked and Larnaca’s little airport is awash with waves of
tourists who arrive white-skinned and leave, at the end of their
holiday break, a rich red brown colour, with sand in their hair.
There are no rooms at hotels in prime tourist areas. Beaches become
no-go areas, packed with foreigners and Cypriots who take their annual
holiday during the second and third weeks of the month. The soiled and
rumpled sand is far too hot to trek across to the warm, salty,
shimmering sea.
Shops in the tourist areas are besieged by foreign bargain- hunters
scanning displays of lace umbrellas, boxes of Turkish Delight, crude
pottery and tacky mementoes.
Seaside restaurants are packed with families consuming mounds of fish
or calamari from the North Sea, chips and huge bowls of village salad
garnished with fresh coriander, feta and olives.
Prices skyrocket. Knots of French, Italians, Irish and Russians in
crumpled T-shirts, skirts and shorts are dragged by guides speaking a
babble of tongues through cool museums and simmering ancient sites,
pausing at kiosks to buy ice cream and postcards.
Highways are crowded with hire cars steered by people who normally
drive on the opposite side of the road. Red licence plates warn
cautious Cypriot drivers to keep a wide berth.
Fortunately, Nicosia, where I live, is not a major tourist
destination. We have the Cyprus antiquities museum, the icon
collection attached to the Archbishopric of the Greek Orthodox Church
and the 16th century palazzo of an Ottoman dragoman.
We have Ledra Street, dubbed “Murder Mile” because of Cypriot attacks
on British soldiers during the anti-colonial struggle, but it is a
pedestrianised shopping district these days.
But we have no sea. Holiday- makers here for sun, sea and sand are
bused in for a few hours to glimpse relics of the island’s 10,000
years of history before returning – bleary-eyed with culture – to its
beaches.
I love Nicosia’s emptiness in August. Life is easy. There are few
traffic jams and no lines at supermarkets. However, repair shops of
all kinds close, so one hopes that the car, air-conditioner or
television do not break down, although it is usually possible to find
someone prepared to step in in an emergency.
The pool where I swim is lovely at nine in the morning. I am almost
always the first to arrive and usually manage to finish two-thirds of
my daily ration of lengths before the first papa and child trail in
and begin to splash in the shallow end. Cypriot papas are very good
with their children.
I stroke back and forth in the sparking azure water beneath an
impressionist canopy of grey- green olive trees, dusty junipers and
pines, and wide white umbrellas against the serene blue sky.
Refreshed, I return home, switch on the air conditioner in the study
and boot the computer. News is never on holiday.
The other night I went with friends to Plato’s pub in a handsome old
Cypriot house located on a narrow street within the thick walls built
by Venetian conquerors in the 16th century. Outside August it is
necessary to book a table well ahead but we found only two or three
occupied. Plato’s spirit and wine list is long, its rooms are cool and
its jazz is hot.
The menu has only half a dozen items, cooked nicely by the Armenian
owner’s mama. Prices are modest. The tourists have not yet discovered
it.
In Cyprus, the family remains the foundation of society, the
administration, and many small businesses. Cypriots can always rely on
a strategically placed close or extended family member to help out
whenever needed, particularly in a crisis.
Neighbourhood groceries set their opening and closing hours to suit
customers and assemble and deliver orders to homes. Doctors still make
house calls. Neighbours greet one another when they meet.
Relationships are conducted on a personal basis. People keep an eye on
each other and an eye out for each other.
Nicosia, with a population of just over 200,000, is just a big small
town one can cross by car in 12 minutes when there are no jams.
It is a grand place to bring up children and to reside in retirement,
a comfortable retreat from covering the political squalls and storms
of the Middle East. Especially in empty August.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 20 2004
Putin Urges Georgia, South Ossetia To Negotiate
20 August 2004 — Russian President Vladimir Putin today urged
Georgia and its separatist region of South Ossetia to renounce
violence and settle their standoff through talks.
Addressing reporters after meeting Armenian President Robert
Kocharian in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said only
negotiations will allow the sides to find a solution to their
sovereignty dispute.
“There can be only one way out: to sit down to the negotiation table;
secondly, to be able to reach agreements; and thirdly, to have enough
political will to implement those agreements,” Putin said.
Putin also said he hoped both parties will have enough “political
will” to implement decisions reached by the joint commission in
charge of monitoring the 1992 Georgian-South Ossetian peace
agreement.
Earlier today, Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Georgia’s decision
to pull back its troops from South Ossetia after this week’s
violence.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the pullout yesterday
after its forces took possession of strategic outposts near the
regional capital Tskhinvali.
Russia had earlier criticized Saakashvili for sending troops into
South Ossetia despite earlier pledges to peacefully reassert his
authority over the region.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
ARMEINAN AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MET IN SOCHI
YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian and Russian presidents
Robert Kocharian and Vladimir Putin met today at the residential
house of president Putin in Sochi.
Expressing his gratitude for accepting the invitation, V. Putin
mentioned that some of the issues have been ripe for discussion.
Though well developed relations are reported in political and other
fields, there are some issues which raise concerns, particularly he
mentioned the trade turnover between the two countries for the first
quarter of the year. V. Putin noted that both sides are aware of the
reasons of such decline and voiced his hope that during the meeting
possible solution will be discussed.
Expressing thanks for the invitation, president Robert Kocharian
noted that decline in trade turnover is conditioned with the
liberalization of diamond market and modernization in Armenal, a
Russian foil subsidiary. According to Armenian president, it is
expected that industrial output will double in Armenal after
modernization. In terms of cooperation in other fields, it is
inclined more to growth.
V. Putin mentioned that Russian sides has fully satisfied the
Armenian applications to study at Russian military higher education
establishment and the number of students may total 150. R. Kocharian
asked to be strict with Armenian students and treat them as Russian
cadets rather than foreigners. V. Putin fully agreed with R.
Kocharian mentioning that there are some technical matters which will
soon be resolved and expressed readiness to satisfy any application
for study in Russian higher educational establishments.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
SMUGGLING OF CATTLE STAVED OFF ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER
GIUMRI, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: On August 19, border guards staved
off attempted violation of Armenian-Turkish border and smuggling of
cattle to Turkey on Verin Shen border line in Shirak region. Three
citizens of Armenian origin have been detained trying to smuggle
about thirty cattle to Turkey. The border headquarters in Giumri
handed over the violators to Armenian interior affairs regional
department. A criminal case is initiated into the case.
Illegal smuggling of cattle from Armenia to Turkey have increased
due to rise of meat prices in the neighboring country. The latest
case was reported in July in Zarishat border zone. Investigation is
under way into the case. During the seven months of the running year,
54 cases of border violations have been reported with total goods of
350,000 Russian rubbles confiscated, including cattle mainly.
According to border guard headquarters, mostly Armenian, Turk and
Kurd criminal groups are engaged in smuggling on the border lines.

ArmenPress
Aug 20 2004
VANADZOR NATIVE PERFORMS FOR RETURNED PEACE CORPS ARMENIA VOLUNTEERS
IN US
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: Armenian
singer/songwriter Gor Mkhitarian made his national capitol region
musical debut on Sunday, July 18 before an enthusiastic crowd of
returned Peace Corps Armenia volunteers and Armenian Diaspora at
Zig’s bar in Alexandria, VA.
Mkhitarian, nominated for 5 music industry awards in 2002, played
a casual set of acoustical numbers from his second album, “Godfather
Tom” which features an eclectic mix of modern folk music that makes
use of banjos, harmonicas, guitar, flutes and the African Djembe.
Mkhitarian has enjoyed enthusiastic support from a Peace Corps
Armenia fan base as a result of the friendships he made with many
volunteers who served in Armenia’s northern regions.
“I think most of us are excited that Gor is able to play in the
U.S. We love his music and attend his concerts because of the
personal connection we had with him in Armenia” said Matt Fabian, who
lived in Alaverdi from 1999-2001 and attended Sunday’s show. Gor’s
song, “Story” is particularly popular among volunteers. Says Fabian,
“it has a great melody-the lyrics are happy, familiar and easy to
dance to Armenian-style.”
Gor began forging ties with volunteers as the lead singer of Lav
Eli, one of his early bands. Two of the band members featured on
“Godfather Tom,” Aaron Stayman and Jason Demirjian, both volunteered
with Peace Corps in Armenia and helped Gor launch his first album
“Yeraz” in 2001.
Gor is working on a third album. Both “Yeraz” and “Godfather Tom”
are available through CD Baby at

The Economist
August 21, 2004
U.S. Edition
A matter of Russian honour; Russia
Four unresolved conflicts in the ex-Soviet republics are a festering
sore
Vladimir Putin should solve rather than stoke regional conflicts
AFTER a humiliating decline as a world power, Russia is working hard
to regain respect and authority. That is a fair, even praiseworthy
aim. But to achieve it, Russia must respect other countries too,
including places once ruled from Moscow. It will prosper more with
friendly, confident countries around it – not weak, frustrated ones.
Russia understands that, but often seems incapable of showing it.
By offering unconditional support to rebel regimes in the Georgian
provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia dishonours itself and
destabilises its neighbourhood (see page 35). Since South Ossetia
broke away from Georgia 12 years ago, it has degenerated into a
smugglers’ paradise. Russian soldiers prop up a sleazy regime that
peddles vodka and arms. Moves by Georgia to cut this illegal trade
have led to a violent summer. Heavier fighting, and open Russian
intervention, are a risk.
The crisis needs delicate handling, but the fundamentals are simple.
South Ossetia is not a viable state. It lives on crime. Its
government needs to be closed down as part of a generous settlement
which Georgia now offers. Abkhazia, Georgia’s other breakaway
province, is a tougher problem, and its local government even less
legitimate – in that it speaks for even fewer of the region’s lawful
residents – than South Ossetia’s.
Of the two places, Abkhazia has more claim to separateness – and it was
the scene, in 1992-93, of a war where both sides fought dirty. Any
settlement must include some deal for Georgians who fled Abkhazia;
but only a limited right of return may be possible – and not straight
away. On the positive side, Georgia wants to talk, and will offer
Abkhazia any arrangement short of independence. But by underwriting
the separatists, Russia is holding up such a solution.
Faced with this, America and Europe should give more help to
Georgia’s Mikhail Saakashvili, whose openness to ethnic co-existence
and western values make him the region’s most promising leader for
decades; the governments of the West should steady his hand while
affirming his choices.
They should also look beyond Georgia, to other “frozen conflicts” in
the region. One is in Moldova, where another rebel statelet,
Transdniestria, lives on smuggling and Russian guns. Then there is a
far bigger stand-off: over Nagorno-Karabakh and its environs, where a
decade ago Armenians broke free from Azerbaijan and expelled local
Azeris. That logjam has other causes besides Russian meddling – but it
would be easier to shift if Russia worked constructively with the
West.
All these conflicts destabilise countries on the new borders of NATO
and the European Union. The four Russian-backed statelets at the
heart of these disputes have something in common: they have no legal
existence, and can easily serve as a free-for-all for illegal
activity of every kind.
That should be a worry for Russia too. If it sponsors adventurism and
racketeering in Georgia and Moldova, that is partly because its
policy there has been captured by crooks. The West should take its
worries to the top, putting it to Vladimir Putin in plain language.
Will the president continue backing separatist regimes that live on
smuggling? Is a miserable bit of local power worth the harm done to
Russia’s name as a responsible state? Of course it is not. But only
when Mr Putin takes a stand will the behaviour of more lowly Russians
change. And he will do so only if other countries persuade him that
his reputation, and that of Russia, are at stake.

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
US MILITARY BASES WILL APPEAR IN AZERBAIJAN
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 18, 2004, p. 4
by Rauf Mirkadyrov, Igor Plugatarev
Baku is making preparations for the US troops that will turn up in
Azerbaijan this autumn within the framework of re-deployment of
American troops abroad currently under way.
According to what information this newspaper has compiled, Azerbaijan
and the United States came to an agreement on deployment of an
American mobile contingent in this country during the recent visit of
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Before that, US AF General
Charles Ward, US Second-in-Command in Europe, spared neither time nor
effort to condition official Baku into acceptance of American
military presence. Ward made two visits to Azerbaijan in 2004. He
made another statement on American military presence in countries of
the southern part of the Caucasus the other day. Addressing a special
meeting at the US Senate in Washington, Ward said, “Georgia,
Azerbaijan, and Armenia are recognized now as the new geopolitical
edge due to the Caspian oil, threats of terrorism, illegal arms
deals, and traffic.” The matter concerns “strategic military
partnership” with countries of the region even though “the United
States does not intend to establish a permanent base there.” Ward
said that American servicemen in Azerbaijan will patrol the Baku –
Tbilisi – Dzheikhan pipeline and ensure its security. Proving himself
a smooth talker, Ward promptly avoided a collision with the law on
national security recently adopted in Azerbaijan which bans
establishment of foreign military bases on the territory of the
country. State officials and the military in Baku and Washington take
care not to call the US troops about to appear in Azerbaijan a
military base. The latter are called “provisionally deployed mobile
forces”. In the meantime, some Azerbaijani officials and politicians
do on denying the fact that some US troops are getting ready to move
into Azerbaijan. Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Ziyafet Askerov
told INTERFAX – Azerbaijan yesterday that his country does not plan
to have any foreign troops on its territory. Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedjarov categorically denounced the very idea of establishment of
US military bases in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani military expert Dzhasur Mamedov says that American
specialists have already examined airfields located in Kyurdamir and
in the settlements of Nasosny and Gala. “More than that, the military
base in Kyurdamir is fully ready for the Americans now. The runways
there were repaired recently. The cantonment was modernized and
upgraded to meet NATO standards,” said Mamedov. “The Kyurdamir base
is conveniently situated. It is right in the center of the country.
>From there, it is possible to instantly respond to what happens along
the Baku – Dzheikhan pipeline and even control the territory of
Iran.”
Mamedov says that some of these airfields (Kyurdamir and Nasosny) can
even receive heavy transports of Ruslan type. TRML-3D mobile radars
with the range of 200 km are to be installed in Sanchagal near Baku
where the Baku – Dzheikhan pipeline terminal is located.
Last week, Rumsfeld visited Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Russian military
experts await the reports on deployment of a mobile American
contingent in Ukraine as well. General Vladimir Dvorkin of the
Institute of Global Economics and International Relations is
convinced that “it is to early yet to draw conclusions because there
is no saying at this point what troops of what strength and arms will
be deployed in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.” “In any case, I do not think
that the matter concerns any major American plans with regard to
these countries,” said Dvorkin. “First, deployment of large garrisons
there is not expedient from the military point of view. Second, there
is the European Arms Limitation Treaty. On the other hand, it goes
without saying that Baku and Kiev would not mind appearance of US
troops on the territories from the political point of view. Foreign
military bases mean additional jobs for the locals and a steady
income.”

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
BAKU NEEDS HELP FROM MOSCOW
SOURCE: Vremya Novostei, August 18, 2004, p. 5
by Shakhin Abbasov
VISIT OF THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN TO MOSCOW CENTERED AROUND
RUSSIA’S PARTICIPATION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Eldar Mamedjarov came to Moscow with a
three-day official visit, yesterday. This is Mamedjarov’s first visit
to Russia in the capacity of the foreign minister. The visitor and
his Russian opposite number Sergei Lavrov will discuss the war on
terrorism and problems of the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
Mamedjarov said before leaving for Moscow that “the central issue on
the agenda concerns Russia’s role as a mediator and chairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
“This is a matter of importance for us,” Mamedjarov said.
The talks in Moscow are taking place against the background of active
Russian-Azerbaijan contacts. Five prominent Russian politicians
visited Baku in the last three months – ex-premiers Yevgeny Primakov,
Sergei Stepashin, and Viktor Chernomyrdin, CIS Executive Secretary
Vladimir Rushailo, and Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.
Some discords have been already settled. The accord signed in 2002
divided the Caspian Sea into national sectors of Russia, Azerbaijan,
and Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan joined construction of a railroad from
Russia to Iran and to the Persian Gulf via Azerbaijan.
In 2002, Azerbaijan made an important step in Moscow’s direction when
it leased Russia the Gabala radar installation. Azerbaijani parties
of the opposition and organizations of environmentalists still
maintain that the radar is harmful to the population of nearby areas.
The day before yesterday, PR Department of the Russian Space Force
found itself compelled to announce that the effect the radar has on
the population and environment does not exceed the established norms.
In fact, demands to sanitary norms in the USSR were stiffer than
anywhere else in the world. In any case, the final conclusion will be
drawn by specialists.
Political scientist Rasim Musarbekov maintains that “the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is like a time bomb” that jeopardizes
the otherwise good relations between Baku and Moscow. Mamedjarov’s
visit to Moscow is taking place against the background of
deterioration of the situation in Georgia. In Azerbaijan itself, not
one public statement of President Ilham Aliyev in the last twelve
years failed to boil down to the threats to resume hostilities and to
criticism of the OSCE Minsk Group. When a military exercise was run
in Nagorno-Karabakh in early August (participation of the Armenian
army in it was not even denied), Mamedjarov even went so far as to
question expediency of continuation of negotiations within the
framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Some specialists do not rule out the possibility that official Baku
may take radical steps to restore territorial integrity of the
country, simultaneously with analogous actions on the part of Tbilisi
against runaway autonomies. “Mamedjarov on his visit to Moscow will
try to gauge the readiness of the Kremlin to put Yerevan under
pressure so as to make it more docile in the talks,” Musarbekov
explained. The United States is another key member of the OSCE Minsk
Group, but the forthcoming presidential election in this country have
persuaded the US Administration not to grate the powerful Armenian
diaspora without a compelling reason.
On August 20, President of Russia Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet
with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharjan in Sochi. It is clear
that the course and the tone of conversation will take into account
the outcome of Lavrov’s negotiations with Mamedjarov that will have
ended by then.
Unless Baku secured Moscow support, Azerbaijan may begin buying arms.
Sources in the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan say that Baku is
already negotiating the matter with Pakistan and Ukraine. “These arms
deals will radically change the military parity between Azerbaijan
and Armenia,” Musarbekov said.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 20, 2004, Friday
VLADIMIR FEDOROV REPLACED THE HEAD OF THE BORDER GUARDS OF THE URALS
MILITARY DISTRICT MIKHAIL OGANESYAN
The Major-General Vladimir Fedorov was appointed the head of the
regional border administration of FSB of the Urals Federal district.
The appropriate decree was signed by President Vladimir Putin. The
former head of the Urals border guards Mikhail Oganesyan left for
Armenia. Journalists do not know the reasons for this yet. “He left
for the other country and does not work in the FSB now” – announced
the press service of the administration. The new head of the border
administration Vladimir Fedorov started his service in 1969 as a
soldier. He commanded border troops in the Caucasus, in the Pacific
Ocean and in Siberia. (…)
Source: UralPolit.Ru, August 18, 2004