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09/15/2004
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1) Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia Meet to Discuss Karabagh
2) New US Ambassador Speaks to Press on Variety of Issues
3) ARS Sponsors HIV/AIDS Education Seminar at UN Conference
4) Turkey Rejects Adultery Ban after EU, Women Protest
5) Georgia Seeks EU Assistance in Conflict Settlement
6) Glendale Voters Approve Americana at Brand Project
7) Strong Ties Bind Russia, Armenia at Karabagh Talks
1) Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia Meet to Discuss Karabagh
ASTANA (Combined Sources)–During a tripartite meeting on Wednesday, held on
the sidelines of the CIS heads of state summit in Astana, Russia’s President
Vladimir Putin met with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan,
stressing
the necessity for continued dialogue on Mountainous Karabagh. “Whatever you
may
agree on today, leaders’ personal meetings always come as a stride
forward,” he
pointed out.
Highlighting President Robert Kocharian’s and Ilham Aliyev’s determination for
resolution, Putin said reassuringly, “I know this conference will not be
fruitless, and will promote conflict settlement.”
Itar-Tass news agency quoted a source in the Kremlin as saying that it was
Moscow’s initiative to organize the meeting and that both presidents responded
positively to the proposal. “In Moscow’s view, the three-way format has
justified itself,” the source said, adding that Moscow has always believed
that
the Armenian and Azeri sides should themselves seek for a solution, while
Moscow is ready to help them achieve a mutually acceptable peace formula.
No further details are yet available from the Wednesday meeting, also attended
by the three co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group tasked with finding a
resolution to the Karabagh conflict.
2) New US Ambassador Speaks to Press on Variety of Issues
YEREVAN (Interfax/RFE-RL)–John Evans, the new US ambassador to Armenia, said
stability and security, economic growth, and development of democratic
institutions are the main focus of US activity in South Caucasus, and Armenia
has attained certain success in these areas.
Evans told a press conference in the Armenian capital on Wednesday, that
certain stability and security concerns exist because the Mountainous Karabagh
conflict remains unresolved. Evans stressed the conflicting parties must
formulate a final solution–along with the mediating efforts of the US,
Russia,
and France as the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group.
He said the focus of US attention is to work on opening the Armenian-Turkish
border, so as to benefit both Yerevan and Ankara.
The envoy also reaffirmed US approval of the last-minute cancellation of
NATO-led military exercises which were scheduled to begin in Azerbaijan on
Monday. The NATO leadership pointed to Baku’s refusal to Armenia’s
participation in the maneuvers.
“We do believe that the NATO authorities made the right decision to cancel
this
exercise,” Evans said. But he was quick to indicate that the move should
not be
seen as a diplomatic victory for Armenia, saying that it hurt both parties to
the Mountainous Karabagh conflict.
He commended plans for Armenia to join the US “coalition of the willing” in
Iraq with a small unit of non-combat troops.
“We salute Armenia for its announced intention to send a transportation unit
along with de-miners and some medical personnel to Iraq.”
The planned deployment, which requires parliament approval, is stirring up
debate in Armenia.
Evans said Washington welcomes a public debate on the issue in Armenia.
Evans, who arrived in Armenia a month ago, is a 56-year-old career
diplomat. He
previously headed the Office of Russian Affairs in the Bureau of European and
Eurasian Affairs of the US State Department.
3) ARS Sponsors HIV/AIDS Education Seminar at UN Conference
ARS representatives take front row at September 9 session on Strategies to
Overcome MDG Obstacles
NEW YORK (ARS)–More than 27 members of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) from
throughout the United States, Canada, and Lebanon, participated in the 57th
Annual United Nations DPI/NGO (Department of Public
Information/Non-Governmental Organizations) Conference held at United Nations
Headquarters in New York, September 8 -10. The three-day conference, Millenium
Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action, attracted more than 2,700
representatives from 90 countries to discuss issues relating to millennium
development goals.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the conference in the General Assembly
Hall. In addition to five plenary panels and 30 mid-day NGO Interactive
Workshops, the Conference featured speakers including Executive Coordinator of
UN Millennium Development Goals Campaign Eveline Herfkins, Jeffrey Sachs,
Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals,
and Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UN Development Program (UNDP),
among others.
At the Millennium Summit in 2000, 189 member states adopted a Declaration that
synthesized the priorities of the international agenda and reflected those
commitments painstakingly negotiated during the previous decade of world
conferences. The Millennium Declaration, and the eight goals it identified,
have become a road map for tackling poverty, instability, HIV/AIDS, gender
inequality, and violence in virtually all parts of the world.
The ARS, Inc., along with two other NGOs–Committee on Child’s Rights and the
NGO Committee on HIV/AIDS, sponsored the workshop–“Interactive Workshop on
HIV/AIDS Education, Prevention and Care; an Emphasis on Engaging Boys and Men
as Full Partners of Women and Children.”
More than 160 participants discussed HIV/AIDS education models and means to
address obstacles such as denial, stigmatization, and the undue burden women
and children face in most societies. Carol Bova, Assistant Professor, Graduate
School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, spoke of the AIDS crisis in
Armenia and her work educating the population about the disease. ARS, Inc.
sponsors and assists Dr. Bova in her endeavors.
For more information, visit
<;
4) Turkey Rejects Adultery Ban after EU, Women Protest
ANKARA (AP)–Turkey’s government backed off its plan to outlaw adultery after
criticism within the European Union (EU) and a march on parliament Tuesday by
hundreds of outraged Turkish women.
Government leaders had proposed an adultery ban as part of a major overhaul of
the mostly Muslim country’s 78-year-old penal code, which comes as the 25 EU
states prepare to decide whether to begin talks on Turkey’s appeal for
membership.
Turkey’s leader has argued an adultery law would protect the family and women
who have been wronged. But women’s groups counter that such a law would be
used
against women–who they say could be imprisoned and lose custody of their
children. They say the measure would encourage “honor killings.”
5) Georgia Seeks EU Assistance in Conflict Settlement
BRUSSELS (Itar-Tass/Civil Georgia)–Georgia has appealed to the European Union
to help resolve conflicts in its defiant provinces of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, Georgian state minister for conflict settlement Georgy Khaindrava,
told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
Khaindrava is part of a delegation, led by Foreign Minister Salome
Zurabishvili, attending a session of the EU-Georgian Cooperation Council in
Brussels.
According to Khaindrava, the current session of the Council has
concentrated on
conflicts with the self-proclaimed entities on Georgian territory. At a
meeting
with the Head of European Union Foreign Affairs Javier Solana, the Georgian
delegation brought up the issue of the “internationalization” of these
conflicts.
“The meeting was very encouraging because it noted our point of view on how
the
conflicts could be solved,” the minister said.
“The presence of European observers and a wide presence of the European
community on the whole would be of help,” the minister added.
He added that the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia should be solved
within the existing frameworks of the OSCE; however, he believes its role
should be more active.
“They must not remain outside observers, but should directly influence the
situation,” the Georgian state minister said.
Meanwhile, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said in a live interview to
the
Moscow-based radio station Echo Moskvy on September 15 that the will of the
people living in South Ossetia should become a decisive factor in the
discussion of a future political status of the republic, emphasizing that
“reintegration into Georgia is out of question.”
According to him, “mechanisms of security and guarantees of implementing
future
agreements should be primarily discussed in order to resolve the issue of a
future status of the republic.”
“We are ready to use any methods of the negotiating process to stabilize the
situation in the region,” the South Ossetian leader added. Kokoity also noted
that he considers Georgia “a brotherly people and South Ossetia is ready to
have good neighborly relations with it.”
Kokoity said that South Ossetia should join Russia’s North Ossetia.
“It is high time to stop dividing Ossetia into North and South. There is one
big, unified Ossetia and Alexander Dzasokhov [the President of Russia’s North
Ossetian Republic] should be elected as President of Ossetia. I do not aspire
for leadership. Simply, I want to live in the united Ossetia,” he said.
The South Ossetian de facto President has applied several times to merge South
Ossetia into the Russian Federation. Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that such a
merger is illegal without Georgia’s consent.
6) Glendale Voters Approve Americana at Brand Project
GLENDALE–Glendale voters on Tuesday approved three measures associated with
developer Rick Curuso’s proposed Americana at Brand project. The three
measures, A, B, and C, were approved during a special election held on
Tuesday,
November 14. The $264 million project would be bounded by Colorado Street,
Brand Boulevard, Central Avenue, and the Glendale Galleria.
“The people have spoken, ” says Glendale Mayor Bob Yousefian. “However, there
are still a number of lawsuits associated with the project that must be
resolved before the project can move forward.” Lawsuits challenging the
project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and related issues will be
heard in
January of 2005.
The election was in response to three referendum petitions that were filed
this
past summer challenging three ordinances. The ordinances would adopt the
Glendale Town Center Specific Plan; rezone property associated with the
specific plan; and approve a Development Agreement between the City and Caruso
Affiliated Holdings.
Over 29,500 residents cast ballots Tuesday. 51.8% (15,304 votes) were in favor
of Measure A; 51.3% (15,140 votes) voted for Measure B; and Measure C passed
with 50.9% (15,016 votes).
7) Strong Ties Bind Russia, Armenia at Karabagh Talks
Azerbaijan appears to view Russia, the region’s heavyweight, as an influential
counterweight to the OSCE, whose peacekeeping efforts in the Mountainous
Karabagh conflict have been the subject of much criticism in Baku.
By Sergei Blagov for EurasiaNet
As Armenia and Azerbaijan began Wednesday’s presidential summit on Mountainous
Karabagh, Russia has emphasized its own ties with Yerevan, prompting Baku to
question the Kremlin’s role as an objective mediator for the conflict.
Chances for a genuine breakthrough during the September 15 talks at the
Confederation of Independent States (CIS) conference in Astana, Kazakhstan are
doubtful, but both Azerbaijan and Armenia are already touting their respective
inclinations for peace.
On September 2, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev told reporters in the province of
Nakhichevan, near the Armenian border, that “[t]he fact that I have not yet
abandoned negotiations on Mountainous Karabagh means that I believe in their
productivity,” Interfax reported.
In turn, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian announced at an August 30
meeting in Prague with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov that the two
sides had made progress in laying “the foundation” for the September talks,
according to Interfax.
But that foundation is one that Baku believes should include Russia. In
August,
Azerbaijan called on the Kremlin to step up its own contributions to a
Karabagh
peace deal. Russia, long the region’s heavyweight, appears to be seen by Baku
as a potentially influential counterweight to the Organization for Security
and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), whose own peacemaking efforts via the tripartite
Minsk Group have been the subject of much criticism from Azeri
parliamentarians
and government officials.
Russia as mediator and guarantor?
When Moscow’s response to Baku’s demand came, however, it took place at a
meeting with Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian–the sixth such in the past
year. At an August 20 summit in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin
announced that “Russia is ready to play a role of mediator and guarantor” in
the Karabagh conflict, but noted that “[t]here have been no breakthrough
decisions.”
A show of Russian support could stand Armenia in good stead at the CIS talks.
Speculation has recently mounted that Kocharian is prepared to return the
seven
Azeri territories it occupies in exchange for a peace deal on
Armenian-controlled Karabagh. According to one recent opinion poll, that would
place Kocharian at variance with nearly half of Armenia’s population–a
delicate situation for a leader who withstood weeks of opposition protests
earlier this spring.
In a June 25 poll by the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies, 45.5 per cent of Armenians stated that they believe that territories
seized during the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan should remain under Armenian
control.
Russia ready to use its influence
Meanwhile, Moscow appears ready to assist. Russia’s longtime influence in the
Caucasus is already under political pressure from the US in Georgia and
Azerbaijan and also under increasing economic pressure in both Georgia and
Armenia from outside energy players like Iran. Even while expressing no
official concern at reported US plans to establish a base in Azerbaijan,
Moscow
has been busy reinforcing its traditionally strong ties with Armenia. Recent
military exercises between the two longtime allies appear to have sparked the
sharpest concern in Baku.
At a training base not far from Yerevan on August 24-28, 1,900 Armenian and
Russian troops fought back an imaginary invasion and assault on Russia’s 102nd
military base at Gyumri. Despite assurances from Armenia’s army that the
maneuvers are not directed against a third country, Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry has taken a different view. Voicing concern that Russia had held war
games with “an aggressor state,” Defense Ministry spokesman Ramiz Melikov has
stated that the operations contradicted Russia’s role as a mediator in the
Mountainous Karabagh conflict.
In November 2003, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov described Armenia as
Russia’s “only ally in the South.” The Russian military presence in Armenia
has
deep roots. A 1995 treaty gives Russia’s military base a 25-year-long presence
in Armenia, while a 1997 friendship treaty provides for mutual assistance in
the event of a military threat to either country. Currently, there are 2,500
Russian military personnel stationed in the country. Recent military materiel
shipped to Armenia includes MiG-29 jetfighters and S300 PMU1 air defense
batteries, an advanced version of the SA-10C Grumble air defense missile.
Russia’s Federal Border Guard Service is also deployed to guard Armenia’s
borders with Turkey and Iran.
Economic ties fuel Azeri fears
Economic ties could also fuel Azeri fears of favoritism toward its longtime
rival. Armenia is heavily dependent on Russia for its natural gas and nuclear
fuel supplies. In 2002, Russia wrote off 100 million US dollars of Armenia’s
external debt in return for control of five state-run Armenian enterprises,
including the Razdan thermal power plant. Russia’s state-run Unified Energy
Systems power monopoly also controls Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power station
and hydropower plants under a similar debt repayment arrangement–a deal that
has placed 90 percent of Armenia’s energy system in Russian hands.
At the same time, however, divergent interests have begun to emerge, most
notably with Armenia’s aspiration to limit its dependence on Russian energy
supplies by building a $120 million, 141-kilometer gas pipeline from Iran to
Europe. Iran reportedly has agreed to supply 36 billion cubic meters of
natural
gas to Armenia from 2007-2027, a plan that could undercut Russian energy
companies’ own position in the Caucasus. The plan has yet to be finalized.
Such
a situation would appear likely to push Russia to forge even closer links with
Armenia to protect its own energy interests. If so, the bid to promote Moscow
as an objective mediator could be fraught with additional difficulties.
In the meantime, the Kremlin is playing its own cards carefully. Azeri Foreign
Minister Mammedyarov had little to show after an August 19 trip to Moscow to
discuss Mountainous-Karabagh other than an official statement that the Kremlin
recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Kocharian was treated to
similarly circumspect language at his Sochi summit with Putin. Wedged between
foes Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Russian leader said, is in “a very
difficult geopolitical situation”.
Sergei Blagov is a Moscow-based specialist in CIS political affairs.
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