Author: Boshkezenian Garik

Freed anti-Armenian protester hails court for “principled” stance
ANS TV, Baku
22 Sep 04

An Azerbaijani protester, imprisoned for breaking into the hotel in
Baku which hosted the 21 June NATO meeting over the presence of
Armenian officers, has been set free after three months in prison,
Azerbaijani independent TV station ANS has said.
In an interview with the “Point of View” programme on 22 September
hours after his release from the courtroom along with five other
members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization group, its chairman
Akif Nagi thanked the people for “a single and principled stance on
the issue”. He told the programme that his fellow KLO members were
expecting to be released because of the mounting public pressure.
Asked whether he thought the initial court ruling to sentence them to
up to five years in jail and later replaced with suspended sentences,
was fair, Nagi said the trial had clearly shown that there was no
weighty argument in the hands of the prosecution. “Let’s speak
logically: they have started a criminal case against us. But such
protest actions had repeatedly been held before. Roads have been
blocked, representatives of different groups have entered the
buildings of various government agencies. We ourselves have done that
many times. We have entered state and nongovernmental buildings in
protest. The day before, on 20 June, we entered the Hyatt Regency
hotel because we thought that the Armenians were staying there. In
other words, this had happened before. And when it happened, either
the demands were met in part or in full, or an administrative
punishment was handed down. But there was no criminal offence to
institute criminal proceedings against us,” he said.
In reply to a question whether he was aware of the fact that one of
the protesters was carrying a knife, Akif Nagi said he had no prior
knowledge of that and added that he could not blame the person either
because their “voices weren’t heard”. “But why isn’t anyone listening
to these people’s demands? Why do they resort to terrorist acts?
Because they cannot reach out to certain people. We have been holding
protest actions outside the offices of international organizations
demanding that they recognize Armenia as aggressor-state and reject
the policy of double standards. We hold an action once, twice, three
times, ten times, but no-one listens to us and no-one even bothers to
read what we write after such demonstrations. And then we have to hurl
stones at their windows so that they could at last react to the noise
of their smashed windows. Again, these are forms of protest and have
nothing to do with terror, but demands have to be heard.”
When asked about living conditions in prison, Akif Nagi said prison
life certainly had its drawbacks but added that his group was treated
“with great respect”. He said that despite sharing a cell with people
convicted for different criminal offences, he found that everyone was
very supportive of the organization in general and of its position on
the anti-Armenian protests in particular. Akif Nagi went on to say
that many prisoners even expressed the wish to join the KLO.
Akif Nagi also welcomed NATO decision to cancel the Cooperative Best
Effort-2004 military exercises in Baku and noted that Azerbaijan had
achieved its goal by barring Armenians from Baku. He said the
Azerbaijani authorities had given a due response to the remarks by
senior Armenian officials who suggested earlier that the officers
would attend the Baku drills at all cost.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
September 21, 2004
UE-TURCHIA: PAGLIARINI, ANKARA AMMETTA GENOCIDIO ARMENI
ROMA
(ANSA) – ROMA, 21 SET – Giancarlo Pagliarini, della Lega,
sostiene che la Turchia non puo’ entrare nella Ue se Ankara non
ammette le responsabilita’ storiche nel genocidio degli armeni.

“Anche se la Turchia riformasse il suo codice penale non
potrebbe comunque far parte dell’Europa – afferma Pagliarini –
se prima non ammette il genocidio del popolo armeno che l’impero
Ottomano ha compiuto nel 1915”. Pagliarini invita la
Commissione europea lasciar perdere “le furberie, il codice
penale, i requisiti” e domanda come reagirebbe “se la
Germania, faccio un esempio, a un certo punto dicesse: ‘ma cosa
vogliono gli ebrei? Noi non gli abbiamo fatto nulla'”. “Credo
che un’affermazione del genere sconvolgerebbe, giustamente, le
coscienze eppure e’ esattamente quello che la Turchia afferma
nei confronti del popolo armeno che ha massacrato”.

Pagliarini afferma poi che su questo genocidio c’e stato
solo silenzio: “al silenzio degli assassini si e’ aggiunto
quello degli stati, delle vittime, della diplomazia e della
coscienza degli uomini. E anche i pochi armeni che sono riusciti
a fuggire al massacro hanno scelto il silenzio – afferma
Pagliarini – per ricominciare a vivere”.

Per questo, “noi e i nostri colleghi, membri dei parlamenti
degli altri ventiquattro paesi che fanno parte dell’Unione
europea, abbiamo il dovere di interrompere questo silenzio delle
coscienze e di dare il nostro contributo affinche – conclude
Pagliarini – tutti i paesi membri dell’Unione europea proclamino
con forza e ricordino questa verita’ storica”.(ANSA).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Wednesday, 22 September 2004 21:20
EXCALIBURONLINE V2.00

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Memory, truth and the Armenian genocide
Written by Raffi Sarkissian – Contributor

On April 21, 2004, just three days before the official commemoration
date of the Armenian Genocide, the Canadian Parliament decided with a
vote of 153 to 68 to condemn the Armenian Genocide. Bill M-380 explains
that “this house recognizes the Armenian Genocide and condemns it as an
act against humanity.”

Eighty-nine years ago the Canadian press, like newspapers around the
world, published horrifying accounts from Anatolia of state-sponsored
genocide.

A 1915 headline from the St. Catharines Standard read: “Killed more
Armenians in 3 days than did Abdul Hamid in 30 years, Enver Pasha
proudly boasts that he has outdone the ‘Red Sultan’ – several once
prosperous villages now devoid of any sign of life.” A report from the
Ottawa Evening Journal that same year reads: “Turks drag 10,000 Armenian
Christians to Tigris, shoot all, and throw bodies into river.”

>From 1915 to 1917, the Turkish regime in the Ottoman Empire carried out
a systematic, premeditated and centrally-planned genocide against the
Armenian people, having set out to exterminate the Armenians from their
three-thousand year old ancestral homeland. Armenians were seen as an
obstacle to the creation of a homogenous Turkish Empire.
Relying on archival evidence from France, Britain, Russia and the United
States, world-renowned historians and scholars concluded that a
centrally planned genocide was indeed carried out by Turkey.

In March 2000, for example, 125 Holocaust scholars recognized the
genocide. In the same year, 150 distinguished scholars and writers
honoured the 50th Anniversary of the UN Genocide Convention by
commemorating the Armenian genocide and condemning the Turkish
government’s denial of this crime against humanity.

But eighty-nine years after the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish Republic
not only denies the genocide, but also gives financial support to
professors, politicians, and other influential people to deny the
genocide and to prevent any country from recognizing it formally.

In 2003, the Turkish government even hired former US Congressmen to
lobby on its behalf. Former Reps. Bob Livingston (R-LA) and Gerald
Solomon (R-NY), who were each paid $700,000, as well as former Rep.
Stephen Solarz (D-NY), who was paid $400,000, have aggressively lobbied
Republican and Democratic Congressmen to prevent US recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. For details, see teachgenocide.com.

Similar efforts were made in the Canadian Parliament, with Turkey
attempting to persuade Members of Parliament to vote against the bill.
Representatives of Turkey threatened that relations between Turkey and
Canada would be harmed. Specific emphasis was put on a possible threat
to Bombardier’s $1-billion deal to build public transit in Turkey.

This form of political and economic blackmail was also threatened
against France in 1998 and Switzerland in 2003. In both instances, the
threats proved to be bluffs.

However, such pressure tactics are still being applied, and now largely
focus on the United States. The US is quite attached to the air bases
and military outposts it is allowed to maintain on Turkish soil, and
these threats therefore carry some weight.

Some people have questioned why Canadians should care about something
that occurred 89 years ago, so far away. But it cannot be stressed
enough that we need to raise awareness about past acts of genocide if we
are to stop these atrocities from occurring in the future.

The Canadian Parliament’s decision, which followed the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide by the Canadian Senate (2002) and the provinces of
Ontario (1980) and Quebec (2004), is thus another step towards justice
and truth.

More steps along these lines should certainly be encouraged.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Sept 20 2004
Saudi-American woman seeks political office
By Linda Isam Haddad in Los Angeles
An Arab-American woman has set her sights on political office in the
United States, hoping to impart social change and create a positive
impact on women’s rights in the Arab world.
About 50 years ago, a young girl shocked her conservative Saudi
neighbourhood when she showed two boys how to ride a bike. They
stared at her with a confused daze as she rode the bike down the
street.
Today, that little girl is all grown up and has shocked her
neighbourhood – and the rest of her country – as she attempts to
become the first Saudi-American woman to win political office in the
US.
“My look on life has always shocked people in my country,” says
Ferial Masry, who is running for the 37th district of the California
Assembly, an assembly seat which represents Ventura County and parts
of Los Angeles County.
“All my life, I was interested in social change,” Masry, also a
teacher of American History and government at Cleveland High School
in Los Angeles, tells Aljazeera.net. “I always had it in me to do
something that may be different that can affect my community.”

Against the odds
Masry filed her candidacy registration papers late, and ended up
running as a write-in candidate in March 2004 for the Democratic
primary election and was able to get enough votes making it to the
general election where her name will appear on the ballot this
November.
“I barely had enough money to run a campaign,” she says, citing her
opponent Audra Strickland, conservative Republican candidate and wife
of the incumbent Assembly person Tony Strickland, who has spent
nearly half a million dollars with two months left in the campaign.

Masry (C), an active Democrat,
was very visible at the convention
Masry says if she wins her grassroots campaign will certainly be a
case study for the entire nation.
The US constitution is just a tiny little document with so much
power, she says. Masry believes with such powers citizens should feel
responsible to become more involved in the political process, whether
one votes or runs for office.
Win or lose, Masry says her running for a political seat will not
only bring awareness to important issues in her community, but it
will also have an impact on women in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the
Arab world.
Growing up
When she was only nine, her mother sent her and her sisters to be
educated at the American Boarding School for Girls in Cairo, Egypt.
Up to that point, the only schooling Masry had had was at the local
Kutab in Makka, a place where children were taught how to read and
learn the Quran.
Masry’s favourite subject in school was history. “The more we know it
and study history, the more we can learn from it to be better people
and [a] better society,” Masry tells Aljazeera.net. “History brings
us close to our roots.”
After earning a bachelor of arts degree in journalism at Cairo
University and living in England and Nigeria, Masry moved with her
husband Waleed to Southern California, a place she first fell in love
with while vacationing.
Waleed, born in Nigeria to a Lebanese father and Armenian mother, did
not like the idea of moving to America, “but he also didn’t mind it”,
Masry says. “I decided on it because I knew it was the place to
pursue the future.”
She counts on her family for
support and encouragement
In 1979, they did just that, opening a small photograph-processing
business, and becoming US citizens three years later.
During that time, Masry pursued and earned a master’s degree in
school administration at California Lutheran University.
Today, Waleed works as a civilian electrical engineer in the US army.

On the issues
“She’s a smart woman because she brings the best of both worlds,”
says Zella Brown, 80, of Thousand Oaks, a city in the district Masry
is running in.
“Her background is tremendous and I enjoy learning more and more
about her.”
Brown has been a Democrat since she first registered to vote, and
believes Masry brings forward not only Democratic principals to the
table, but as well ideas and values most politicians do not have that
may help her campaign.
One of Masry’s biggest concerns, especially as a teacher in the Los
Angeles Public Unified School District, is how public education is
being handled.
She ran on a shoestring budget in
the primary election

One of California’s biggest crises is that its educational system is
lagging behind other states’ public school systems. It is a struggle
trying to balance a budget deficit without hurting the public school
system.
“The beauty of [America’s] system is that you can be educated until
the day you die,” Masry says. “But the unfortunate thing is the
politicians have a hold of our education, and the first thing I would
try to do is to take education out of the hands of the politicians.”
Masry stands firm on the issue of not hurting public schools’ budgets
when trying to balance the states’ budget.
“As a high school teacher, I stand for a good public education, which
should be a normal thing and not a privilege,” Masry says.

Defeating stereotypes
America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is considered a
controversial one among some Americans, especially since it was
revealed that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 attacks were
Saudi-born.
With America’s ever-growing efforts to combat “terrorism”,
stereotypes of Arabs have also been growing in the minds of some
Americans.
“There is a stereotype [about Arabs], but it all depends on how you
receive it,” Masry says. “Stereotypes about Arabs and anyone else
disgust me, yes, but I do not and will not allow it to hurt me. We
[Arabs] are a people with a proud heritage.
The Saudi-born Masry wants Arab
women to believe in themselves
“Stereotypes may even come from your own community,” says Omar Masry,
the candidate’s oldest of three children.
Unfortunately, Omar says, some Arabs automatically assume that
because his mother is Saudi Arabian, she is rich, and so they will
not donate money to her campaign.
Omar is very hopeful his mother will win, despite the fact the
district she is running in is predominantly Republican. “[My mother]
is able to bridge differences,” Omar says. “She is not your average
white bread Ryan Seacrest look-a-like wannabe politician who cannot
relate to average Americans.”
Creating social change
Masry has certainly attracted much attention since her determination
to run for the assembly started this year.
“People like me because I am funny and not threatening, but at the
same time I’m very serious when it comes to seeing things change for
[the] good,” she says.
“Unfortunately, women in [the Arab] culture feel oppressed and blame
the culture,” she says. “Part of the problem is not our culture, but
the woman herself.”
She hopes women in the Arab world will stand up and believe in
themselves and go against any force that oppresses them.
“Unless you take yourself seriously, know you can have an effect on
your community and respect yourself and believe in yourself first, no
one else will believe in you,” she says.

UP THE MOUNT ARARAT
Azg/am
21 Sept 04
Vahagn Gurzadian and Sver Aarset Repeated the Route of Parrot and
Abovian
On August 10 two members of the British Royal Astrological
Association, Vahagn Gurzadian and Sver Aarset, climbed the Biblical
mount of Ararat. Aarset managed to reach 3.800 m whereas Gurzadian
reached the top. They repeated the scientific expedition of professor
Parrot and Armenian writer Khachatur Abovian made 175 years ago in
1829.
The Northern slope of the mount has been a closed military zone since
1920, no foreigner was permitted. But the Turkish authorities gave
permission to the Aarset-Gurzadian expedition in view of their
scientific researches.
The English scientist, Sver Aarset is a prominent specialist in the
field of modeling the dynamics of the galaxies.
Vahagn Gurzadian is professor of the University of Rome, head of the
“Cosmologia” group in the Institute of Physics in Yerevan, board
member of “Euroscience”, organization elaborating the European
science. He is an editor of the US International Journal of Modern
Physics D and the British Advances in Astronomy and Astrophysics book
series.
The scientists had some experience of mountain climbing but the idea
of Ararat expedition came to them during Aarset’s visit to Yerevan
forcooperation with Gurzadian and his group.
During our short meeting Vahagn Gurzadian shared some interesting
details of the expedition with us.
“It was not an easy journey, there were several problems mainly at the
foot of the mount not up there”.
Before climbing Ararat we were on Aragats and then we left for
Kars. When we approached Ararat, the territory facing Armenia turned
to be a military zone with lot of armors and helicopters circling
above. At first they were very suspicious about us but in a while,
after finding out who we were and what our mission was, they suggested
to stay and set off the next day.
We chose the Abovian-Parrott route because it is the most natural one
from the Armenian side. Abovian and Parrott managed to climb just
after the 3-d try because of problems with aclimization. Our second
try was successful. The night before the climb we were wondering
whether our equipments would stand the glacier. Parrott’s diary that I
had with me helped me much, we could see that we were following their
route. I left Aarset on the height of 3000 m and continued up to 4.800
m. Even the professional mountaineers don’t take the risk of climbing
so up high at one stroke because the so-called mountain sickness
starts. I felt dizzy and decided to go back. It was not an easy
decision as I was not sure to make the second try.
Next morning we set off at 4.15. On 3.800 m Aarset decided not to
continue feeling that he is holding us back. He knew that Ararat was a
special symbol for me.
I feel kind of guilty that most of my friends in Armenia didn’t have
this chance. Even if they were here no one would let them join us. I
could never imagine that the climb to Ararat would be possible only
due to my scientific activity. I am very thankful to all those
contributing to our expedition, especially to Arax Gold company.
Besides the fact that we were on Ararat I think that our materials on
ancient monuments are not less important. We took the pictures of an
Armenian church situated at the altitude of 2.100 m, an Armenian
castle and other monumentsof archeology and architecture.
On our way back through Etchmiadzin we told His Holiness Karekin II
about our journey. By the way, Parrott also visited Etchmiadzin but
before the climb, and there the Catholicos presented the 20-year-old
interpreter, Khachatur Abovian.
By Melania Badalian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CORE BRANCHES CANNOT BE OPPOSED TO ONE ANOTHER
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
17 Sept 04
Recently AA has often touched upon the problems of the agricultural
sector, interviewed leading specialists. This circumstance can only
be praised especially that our country is an agrarian one and the
essential share of the GDP is r eceived from farming. That is to say,
the problems referring to this sphere must be in the center of constant
attention. In the September 2 issue of AA Naira Hayrumian in her
article raised an important question that viticulture in Karabakh is
more profitable than grain production. I would like to mention that it
is not correct to oppose these two traditional branches of the economy
of Artsakh (by the way specialist of agriculture Vladimir Zakiyan
expressed the same opinion in the interview of Nikolay Baghdassarian)
for the simple reason that each of the mentioned branches of farming
have their significance. First, grain production. It has been
assumed that the country is rich and independent when it has large
amounts of bread which may give it economic independence. Besides,
grain production provides a stable development of fodder production
and cattle breeding. During 70 soviet years, and especially in the
1980-1990â^À^Ùs production of grain was paid special attention, seed
farms were created, agricultural works were carried out according to
the schedule under strict control. Sowing 30-33 hectares of land
the farmers of Nagorni Karabakh managed to keep a stable 2,2-2.3
tons of wheat yield per hectare. Annually 60-70 thousand hectares of
grain was produced, and there were years when the yield reached 155
thousand tons. Despite the stable amount of yield the demand for grain
was not satisfied. Annually 75-100 thousand tons of combined fodder
was purchased. Grain does not require much care: water, fertilizers,
chemicals, special agricultural machines, even sunrays, it grows on
any kind of land, even without irrigation. Besides, the technology
of grain production involves only the work of machines. What is more,
the production of grain needs to be expanded taking into account the
implementation of the program by which the population of the republic
is planned to be increased up to 300 thousand. This means that the
production of grain should be tripled, even quadrupled. In the past
there existed a confirmed food program according to which there
was to be produced annually 150 kg of wheat, 100 kg of potatoes and
vegetables, 50 kg of fruit and grapes, 65 kg meat, 300 kg of milk and
dairy products, 150-200 eggs per capita. A major part of the mentioned
foods is based upon grain production. Now viticulture. Of course,
the average yield of grapes is more profitable than that of wheat.
But it is not possible to cultivate vine anywhere (Zakiyan grounded
this in the mentioned interview). Viticulture should not be developed
at the expense of grain production but viticulture should be in the
center of attention as well. Especially that in the village Khramort
phylloxera-resistant vine is bred. Only the new vineyards should be
planted at those places where people were occupied in this for decades
and have acquired necessary skills. Here, of course, the government has
to deal with the matter seriously. Improvement of the loaning programs,
supply of seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, machines, technologies will
provide a firm basis for the stable development of agriculture.
EDWARD GASPARIAN. 17-09-2004

US AMBASSADOR HAILS ARMENIA’S MOVE TO SEND SAPPERS AND DOCTORS TO IRAQ
ArmenPress
Sept 16 2004
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS: “We welcome Armenia’s initiative to
send sappers and doctors to Iraq,” ambassador of US to Armenia John
Evans told reporters speaking on Armenia’s involvement in post-war
restoration of Iraq.
He said multinational forces in Iraq are facing serious difficulties
and the assistance by Armenia is highly valuable. He admitted that
the parliament has still to discuss the issue and said that the
establishment of peace and democracy in Iraq is in the world interests.
Responding to a question on opening of Turkish-Armenian border, he
mentioned that this will be a favorable move for Armenia and eastern
parts of Turkey. “We have for some time now supporting the idea of
opening Turkish-Armenian border,” the ambassador assured saying that
they also talk about the issue with their Turkish counterpart.

MINISTER OF HEALTH SAYS SECOND PART OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO BESLAN ON ITS WAY
ArmenPress
Sept 16 2004
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS: “At present the second part of
humanitarian assistance to Beslan is ready, including medicine,
blood and clothes,” Armenian health minister Norayr Davidian said at
parliament-government question and answer session yesterday.
According to him, the humanitarian assistance is organized by ministry
of employment and social issues in tandem with big medicine exporting
companies, Farmatex and Arpimed. More than 200 donors from the capital
and 100 from Giumry participated in the action. Specially active were
law enforcement bodies and students.
The minister noted that 21 boxes of medicine, 50 packs of frozen
plasma of blood were sent to Beslan on Sept 7. Also, readiness has
been expressed to receive patients.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
SENATE RESTORES U.S. SECURITY BALANCE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS
Assembly Credits Senate Majority Whip McConnell
Washington, DC – After a lengthy budget battle, the full Senate
Appropriations Committee yesterday voted to reinstate military
aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Fiscal Year (FY)
2005 Foreign Operations bill. The legislation, which allocates $8.75
million in military financing to both countries, not only foils the
Administration’s attempt to favor Azerbaijan but also exceeds the
House request of $5.75 million for each country.
Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is Chairman of the
Foreign Operations Subcommittee, told the Assembly, “Support for
Armenia remains strong in the Senate and we continue to follow
developments in Nagorno Karabakh closely. I am pleased that
humanitarian and relief assistance will keep flowing to Nagorno
Karabakh.”
With this funding, both Baku and Yerevan are slated to receive
$8 million for Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $750,000 for
International Military Education and Training (IMET). The training
funds allow the U.S. to work with and train the host country’s military
personnel, particularly on security related issues.
“The Assembly welcomes today’s vote and commends Senator McConnell for
maintaining balance in the region,” said Assembly Board of Directors
Chairman Anthony Barsamian. He added that the Administration’s proposed
allocation, $8 million for Azerbaijan and only $2 million for Armenia,
could have undermined the fragile cease-fire between the neighboring
countries, which is particularly worrisome given Baku’s recent threats
against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
“We were concerned by the fact that such a disparity would weaken U.S.
credibility as an impartial and leading mediator in the ongoing
Nagorno Karabakh peace process,” added Board of Trustees Chairman
Hirair Hovnanian. “However, we were encouraged this summer by the
House action to restore parity and are equally pleased by the Senate’s
decision to follow suit and also increase Armenia’s economic funding.”
Under McConnell’s leadership, the Senate Appropriations Committee has
consistently allocated the highest level of assistance to Armenia.
Lawmakers yesterday approved “not less than” $75 million in economic
aid to Armenia, a nearly $15 million jump from the Administration’s
request and $10 million more than the House approved.
In April, during the Assembly’s National Conference in Washington,
McConnell told Armenian-Americans: “I’ve tried to make sure Armenia
has vital U.S. assistance from the United States. The request in the
present budget this year is $62 million and I’ll be trying to increase
that amount.”
The next step in the legislative process is a vote on the Foreign
Operations bill by the full Senate.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-083

Armenia wants broader cooperation with NATO
Interfax
Sept 15 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia is open for serious and more extensive
cooperation with NATO, President Robert Kocharian assured a NATO
Parliamentary Assembly delegation on Tuesday.
Kocharian expressed satisfaction with the current extent of
Armenia-NATO cooperation and said his country was involved in a number
of NATO programs.
He also called for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus. This
would provide a good basis for settling conflicts, he argued.
He said Armenia had repeatedly proposed “the settlement of conflicts
in the South Caucasus via cooperation” but that Azerbaijan had rejected
the idea.
Armenia takes an active part in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.
NATO held an exercise in Armenia in 2003 as part of the program.
The Armenian presidential press service told Interfax that Kocharian
would leave for Astana on Wednesday to take part in a Commonwealth
of Independent States summit.
The service also said the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
planned to hold their next round of talks in Astana to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.