Author: Antonian Lara

NAGORNO-KARABAKH’S STATUS SHOULD REFLECT AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY – FOREIGN MINISTRY

Interfax News Agency
Aug 4 2008
Russia

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved on the basis of a
phased approach and respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,
Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibragim said on Monday.

"The following is on the negotiating table at the moment: the
conflict resolution should be phased, with Armenia withdrawing all
of its troops from the occupied lands, including Nagorno Karabakh,
in the first place, the return of Azeri refugees there, and only
after the relations between both [Armenian and Azeri] communities
are stabilized will the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined,"
he told a briefing on Monday.

Azerbaijan’s position on this issue remains unchanged, and the
status of Nagorno Karabakh can only be determined in the framework
of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s status should reflect Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity – Foreign Ministry (Part 2)

BAKU Aug 4

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved on the basis of a
phased approach and respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,
Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibragim said on Monday.

"The following is on the negotiating table at the moment: the
conflict resolution should be phased, with Armenia withdrawing all
of its troops from the occupied lands, including Nagorno Karabakh,
in the first place, the return of Azeri refugees there, and only
after the relations between both [Armenian and Azeri] communities
are stabilized will the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined,"
he told a briefing on Monday.

Azerbaijan’s position on this issue remains unchanged, and the
status of Nagorno Karabakh can only be determined in the framework
of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, he said.

Last Friday, U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE (Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe) Matthew Bryza said after a meeting between
Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers that this status would be
determined by the vote Enhanced Coverage Linkingvote -Search using:
Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days of the Karabakh
people themselves.

These are the basic principles mentioned earlier, the approximate
framework, Bryza said. Nothing has been agreed so far, he said.

What we have proposed is that Armenia should withdraw its troops from
the seven regions surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, peacekeepers should be
introduced to enable the return of displaced persons and refugees,
a corridor must be created which would link Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh, and a vote Enhanced Coverage Linkingvote -Search using:
Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days – be it a plebiscite
or a referendum, whatever, as long as it is a voting Enhanced Coverage
Linkingvoting -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent
60 Days process – should be held to determine the future of Nagorno
Karabakh, its future status," Bryza said.

We do not know exactly when this will happen, he added.

All these modalities should be discussed, said Bryza.

KHAZAR IBRAHIM: "MATTHEW BRYZA REFUTES WHAT HE SAID A DAY BEFORE"

Azeri Press Agency
Aug 4 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva – APA. "If you pay attention to Matthew Bryza’s
statements, you will see that he either refutes them the next day,
or expresses quite different views. That’s why I do not want to
comment on Bryza’s recent statement", Spokesman fro Azerbaijan’s
Foreign Ministry Khazar Ibrahim said while taking a stance on the
statement of OSCE Minsk American Co-Chair Matthew Bryza in Moscow, APA
reports. Khazar Ibrahim lined up the issues on the table as follows:
the conflict will be solved stage-by-stage, units of Armenian army will
be withdrawn from Azerbaijani territories, all internally displaced
people (IDP) of Azerbaijan will return to their native lands and
Nagorno Karabkh’s status will be determined within the framework of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity only after the communities have
normal relations. The diplomat said the importance of the negotiations
was that the process continued, but any progress was out of discussion.

"If there was any improvement, we could speak about new situation",
he said.

Matthew Bryza said in Moscow that the negotiations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan covered liberation of the regions around Nagorno Karabakh,
deployment of peacekeeping forces in the region and referendum
concerning Nagorno Karabakh’s status.

IN THE ARMED FORCES: MILITARY-ECONOMIC MANEUVERS
by Vladimir Mukhin

WPS Agency
What the Papers Say (Russia)
August 4, 2008 Monday
Russia

Overview of military exercises held in Russia last week; Large-scale
exercises were under way all last week in southern and eastern Russia,
involving over 20,000 personnel. The Southern federal district hosted
the Caucasus 2008 military exercises. The Siberian military district
hosted East 2008: a strategic command-staff exercise.

Large-scale exercises were under way all last week in southern and
eastern Russia. Over 20,000 personnel and 1,500 pieces of military
hardware participated in the maneuvers. Such events have been held
regularly in the Russian Federation in recent years. But this year,
judging by the tasks performed, their goals seemed more pragmatic –
closer to the real situation.

The Southern federal district hosted the Caucasus 2008 military
exercises. The Siberian military district hosted East 2008: a strategic
command-staff exercise for management of groups of troops (forces)
in Eastern Russia. In Moscow, the headquarters of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was used from July 30 to August 1
as the base for the second (theoretical) stage of a joint command-staff
exercise, Border 2008, in which questions of applying CSTO troops
to repel aggression against Armenia were worked out using maps (the
field stage of this exercise will be held in Armenia, August 18-22).

To all appearances, the scenario for the exercises in the Caucasus
is related to the actual situation in Georgia, which is making
preparations to use force to resolve the conflicts in South Ossetia
and Abkhazia, where most residents are Russian citizens and our
peacekeepers are present. In the event of an emergency situation, they
would be assisted by troops from the North Caucasus military district.

The maneuvers in Siberia were of a military-economic nature, rather
than purely military. Under the command of Army General Nikolai
Makarov, Chief of the General Staff, they studied and drilled
"a broad range of potential appropriate measures to ensure the
security of hydrocarbon transport across the territory of the Eastern
region." They also worked on training tasks aimed at "neutralizing
the consequences of environmental and industrial disasters, as well
as preventing terrorist attacks on civilian shipping and important
Armed Forces facilities."

Meanwhile, the officers gathered in Moscow were working hard on
exercise objectives in the event of a military conflict breaking out on
the borders of Armenia. This is a relevant topic, since in this region
there is some probability of hostilities aimed against Russia’s chief
ally in the Caucasus. There seem to be some problems with working out
military training objectives here. Exactly who should be viewed as
the aggressor for the purpose of these exercises: Azerbaijan, Turkey,
or someone else? Georgia’s relations with Russia are strained at
present; will Georgia permit transit of troops and forces traveling
from Russia and other CSTO countries to Armenia for the exercises?

Russia has been building up the strength of its armed units
stationed in the North and South Caucasus. Peacekeeping forces in the
unrecognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been reinforced. the 102nd
military base in Armenia has received substantial quantities of weapons
and ammunition, transferred there after the withdrawal of Russian
bases from Georgia. However, these forces aren’t providing complete
stability in the region. Terrorist attacks continue in Dagestan,
Chechnya, and Ingushetia (that is, in the very same republics where
exercises are being held); guerrillas have become more active. In
Georgia and Azerbaijan (concerning Nagorno-Karabakh), the likelihood
of large-scale hostilities has increased.

THE KEY SLOGAN OF THE UNYIELDING ARMENIAN OPPOSITION IS THE RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN

arminfo
2008-08-01 22:07:00

ArmInfo. During an opposition rally today the leader of the Armenian
opposition, the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossyan
criticized President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and demanded his
resignation.

He said that the key slogan of the unyielding Armenian opposition
was the resignation of President Sargsyan and the conduct of mid-term
presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ter-Petrossyan accused Sargsyan of usurping power through electoral
fraud on Feb 19 2008, participating in the organization of the Mar
1 massacres in Yerevan, wrecking the investigation of the events and
fully criminalizing the government agencies.

WAVE OF PROTESTS TO BE DIRECTED AGAINST TER-PETROSYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on Aug 01, 2008
Armenia

"In the fight against the authorities or for power, the blood of an
Armenian was shed by another Armenian. If Ter-Petrosyan thinks that
the authorities will not manage to appease society unless he creates
a public support for them, he is sadly mistaken.

Some time in future, the wave of protests of the riotous society will
directed against Ter-Petrosyan if that society understands that his
programs were unrealizable from the outset," EDWARD ANTINYAN, Head
of the Armenian Liberal Progressive Party is convinced.

NEW MOTTO OF THE ALL ARMENIAN NATIONAL MOVEMENT

A1+
[10:23 pm] 01 August, 2008

At his today’s speech made in the Matenadaran square Levon
Ter-Petrossian declared that from then on the motto of the All
Armenian Movement was Serzh Sargssian’s resignation and the holding of
special Presidential Elections. The demand is based on the following
accusations brought against Serzh Sargssian:

1)Privatization of power by holding falsified elections,

2) Having a share in the 1 March crime,

3) Hindering of the crime revelation,

4)Criminalization of the authorities.

GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA FACILITATES PROCEDURE OF ISSUING PASSPORTS TO MINORS

arminfo
2008-07-31 15:20:00

ArmInfo. Government of Armenia has facilitated procedure of issuing
passports to minors.

Head of the Armenian Police Alik Sargsyan said at a press conference
that the minors whose passport validity was expiring within a year
have faced problems with getting exit visas. Consular services of
embassies demanded new passports to provide exit visas, which was
rather problematic in conditions of the effective legislation. The
governmental decision dated 1998 did not provide prolongation of
passports for minors under 16. Thursday on July 31 the Government
amended the given decision and liquidated all the red tape restrictions
and now minors can easily change their passports on the basis of an
application by one of their parents or a responsible person.

Thus, the government has recovered the constitutional right of minors
to free movement, the head of the Police said.

FOREIGN MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA MR. EDWARD NALBANDIAN’S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF "ARMINFO" NEWS AGENCY

Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
July 29 2008

Question- Mr. Minister, today there will be discussions in Washington
D.C. on the appointment of the new US Ambassador to Armenia. What
expectations do you have?

Answer – The President of the Republic has already made public remarks
in this respect. I would like to reiterate once again that we hope
that as a result of today’s discussions in the Senate, the candidacy
of the new US Ambassador will be confirmed, and she will soon arrive
in Yerevan to bring her contribution to the further development of
the Armenian-US relations.

ARMENIA: ON PER CAPITA STRONG ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Express.am
July 31, 2008 Thursday

According to the Union of Armenian Winemakers, per capita brandy
consumption in Armenia amounts to 3 litres per annum, wine consumption
to 1 litre per annum, and vodka consumption to 8 litres per annum.

ARMENIA WILL NEVER STOP PRESSING FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.07.2008 17:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia never stopped and will never stop pressing
for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated
by the Ottoman Empire, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told a
news conference in Yerevan today.

"We just want normal relations with our neighbors and stand for
normalization of relations with Turkey without preconditions. President
Sargsyan’s invitation is a good will gesture which never means that
we question the fact of Genocide. We will not make concessions in
recognition of Turkey’s borders or in the Nagorno Karabakh issue
either. Now, we are waiting for Turkey’s response," the Minister said.

Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with Armenia in 1993
as a token of solidarity with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

Ankara also says the normalization of ties depends on Armenia’s formal
recognition of the current borders with Turkey and changing its policy
of calling for worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire.

In a sign of readiness to normalize ties, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan proposed "a fresh start" in relations with Turkey in an
article published in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

Sargsyan also invited Gul to a World Cup qualifying match between
Armenian and Turkish teams on September 6.