Author: Emil Lazarian

ARMENIA TO SUBSTITUTE GEORGIA IN RUSSIAN WINE MARKET
1 5:27 04/13/2006
Chairman of the Armenian Wine-Makers Union Avak Arutyunyan has
commented to a REGNUM correspondent on ban of Georgian and Moldavian
wine imports. He called the decision made by the Russian authorities
a rightful one. As he says, ” the Russian authorities should care,
first of all, about health of their citizens.”
As the expert believes, decision of the Russian authorities will be
“a severe blow to the economies of Georgia and Moldavia, as 25-30%
of GDP of these countries was secured exactly on the account of
wine-making.” “The parties can reach a compromise, if, of course,
the political aspect is settled. Actually, the issue of banning wine
exports contains two aspects, a technological and a political one,
and the latter is not predominant.”
Speaking about substitutes for banned Georgian wines, Arutyunyan
said Armenia could profit from the situation in the Russian market:
“In this case, Armenia can substitute Georgia, but we have a serious
rival in the person of France, and the Armenian government should at
this stage take immediate decisions and support Armenian wine-makers.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MORE THAN 16 THOUSAND DEPOSITORS IN GUGARK TO GET COMPENSATION TILL LATE THIS YEAR
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
VANADZOR, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The process of giving compensation for
the monitary deposits put in the “Armsavingbank” up to June 10, 1993,
starts on April 12. As Noyan Tapan was informed by Samvel Mkrtchian,
the Deputy Chief of the Social Security Service of Vanadzor, according
to preliminary data, in the city of Vanadzor and in 21 villages of the
region of Gugark, 16028 people involved in lists of people getting
benefits since July, 2005, will get compensation. It was mentioned
that a special duty shift with a movable schedule is defined at
the center of the service, and inspectors of the service will serve
inhabitants of rural communities at place. Paying money to that group
of depositors is envisaged to start from August and end late this year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

68 FIRST YEAR STUDENTS STUDY AT CORRESPONDENCE COURSES OF VANADZOR BRANCH OF AGRARIAN UNIVERSITY
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
VANADZOR, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Courses in the directions of the
“System of Land Tenure and Land-Survey,” “Accountancy and Audit,”
“Veterinary Sanitary Examination” specialities started in the newly
opened department of correspondence courses of the Vanadzor Branch
of the State Agrarian University of Armenia. As Alexander Hakobian,
the acting Director of the branch, a candidate of agrarian sciences
informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent, 68 first year students are
involved in the department. According to him, during the next academic
year, besides the above-mentioned specialities, it’s envisaged to
hold entrance in the direction of the “Forest Economy and Planting
of Greenery in Settlements,” “Livestock Farming,” “Agronomy,”
“Mechanization of Agriculture,” “Milk and Dairy Produce Technology,”
specialities. A.Hakobian mentioned that everything is done to organize
at the branch the courses corresponding to the modern educational
standards. According to him, existence of a qualified lecturers’ staff
and corresponding material-technical basis is a hopeful guarantee
for the educational institution becomes a good smithy for preparing
qualified specialists for the agriculture of the region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

15 VILLAGES OF TAVUSH TO BE ABLE TO USE SERVICES OF INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE CONNECTION
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
IJEVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Works are implemented by “ArmenTel” in
15 rural communities of the marz of Tavush, for the local subscribers
are able to make use of the international telephone connection. 7 of
those villages are in the region of Noyemberian, and 5 ones are in
the region of Ijevan. At present inhabitants of the cities of Ijevan,
Berd, Dilijan, Noyemberian and of the village of Koghb have possibility
to make use of that service.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FEAR PREVAILS AFTER PRIEST’S MURDER
By Annette Grossbongardt
Spiegel Online, Germany
April 12 2006
Christians are a vanishing minority in predominately Muslim Turkey.
The murder of a priest in February shows that the situation has become
precarious — both for Catholics and for Turkey’s EU bid.
Father Pierre Brunissen is deeply immersed in thought as he bumps along
in the night bus along the Black Sea coast from Samsun to Trabzon in
northern Turkey. There is, on this trip, little for the priest to be
happy about. He is hurrying to a Christian congregation in Trabzon —
a city of 250,000 Muslims — which boasts barely a dozen members. And
he is needed because the former priest in Trabzon, Father Andrea
Santoro, was murdered in his church.
PHOTO GALLERY: THE MURDERED PRIEST OF TRABZON
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (7 Photos).
It’s a church which is now casting about for a caretaker. In the
vicarage, which gives off a distinct air of neglect, a small plastic
tree left over from Christmas gathers dust in the visiting room.
Because no one volunteered to replace the murdered priest, the
75-year-old Father Pierre was instructed to travel the 250 kilometers
by bus from Samsun to Trabzon once a month to look after things in
the city’s tiny congregation.
The Catholic Santa Maria Church was founded by Capuchin monks
150 years ago. Santoro had the church restored, and now colorful
ornaments and images of the saints once again grace the building’s
walls and ceilings. But in early February, Santoro was shot dead by
two gunshots while he was praying in the last pew of the church. The
first shot penetrated his lung and the second went straight to his
heart. In the dark wood of the pew, a splintered mark made by one
of the bullets can still be seen. On this day, Father Pierre will
celebrate the first mass in the church since Santoro’s murder, but
the church bells remain silent — there is nobody there to ring them.
DER SPIEGEL Trabzon is on the Black Sea coast in northeastern Turkey.
Christians are a tiny, tolerated minority in Turkey, a country which
is 99 percent Muslim, and the Catholic priest is wary of being too
conspicuous. He even advises the members of his congregation in
Samsun not to wear any visible symbols of their faith, such as a
cross dangling on the outside of a blouse or shirt.
“Murdered priests aren’t good for Trabzon”
“We have nothing against Christians,” says Volkan Canalioglu, the mayor
of Trabzon. “On the contrary, we respect other religions; after all,
Turkey is home to many cultures.” A giant Turkish flag hangs in his
office, and he is a member of the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet
Halk Partisi or CHP) founded by Kemal Ataturk, which promotes the
secular legacy of the founder of the modern Turkish state. “You will
find no one in Trabzon who approves of this horrible deed.”
The vice president of the local soccer team, Trabzonspor, is also upset
about the incident. “We were playing a match in Ankara when the murder
happened. We won the match, but we couldn’t really enjoy our victory,”
says Hasim Sayitoglu. “Headlines about murdered priests aren’t good
for Trabzon or for us.” Sayitoglu grew up not far from the Santa
Maria Church, although he says he doesn’t know a single Christian.
Trabzon, an ancient trading city that now hopes to develop a
thriving local tourist industry, places little value on its Byzantine
heritage. There are many churches and monasteries dating from centuries
of Byzantine Christian rule, although most have since been converted
into mosques. During the great population exchange between Turkey and
Greece in 1923, almost 1.5 million Orthodox Christians were expelled
from Asia Minor and replaced by 356,000 Muslims from Greece. As a
result of the mass murder and expulsion of the Armenians in World
War I, the country had already lost almost a million Christians. The
result was an almost entirely Muslim state.
Turkey is still home to about 100,000 Christians. Their status is
one of the barometers being used to determine Turkey’s suitability
for European Union membership, making the murder of Father Santoro
especially inconvenient for the administration in Ankara, which is
rooted in Islam but is doing its utmost to portray Turkey as tolerant
and liberal-minded. “The gunshots were not just aimed at Santoro,
but also at the atmosphere of stability Turkey enjoys today,” says
Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
describes the murder as an “isolated case.”
But isolated cases have been on the rise in Turkey.
Churches have few rights
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Recently a young man attacked a monk and a priest with a kebab knife
in a Catholic monastery in Mersin, a small city on the Mediterranean.
“We are no longer safe here,” says the Vicar Apostolic for Anatolia,
Luigi Padovese. “Until now, Mersin was one of our most peaceful
congregations.” Nowadays, the bishop never travels without bodyguards,
a precaution the interior ministry has practically forced him to
accept.
Shortly after the murder in Trabzon, nationalist youth attacked a
Catholic priest in Izmir. They grabbed him by the neck and shouted:
“We will kill you!” and “Allahu akbar! God is great!” The priest
barely made it to safety. After the incident, police officers were
routinely posted in front of the church in Izmir, a measure that had
already been taken in other cities.
Turkey’s Christian minorities had hoped that reforms introduced by
the administration of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan — as part of
its effort to gain EU membership — would not just lead to a few
improvements, but to complete religious freedom. Although Christians
are permitted to practice their faith freely, in many cases their
churches have practically no rights and often have no claim to the
property they stand on.
When Bishop Padovese requested work permits for two church employees
in Trabzon, the interior ministry denied his request, arguing that
because a Catholic Church doesn’t exist in Turkey, it cannot file
requests. “That’s the paradox,” says Padovese, “We are here, but
legally we don’t exist.” It was not until recently that pastors, who
were previously registered as consular employees, have been allowed
to register as members of their own profession.
“The basic level of anti-Christian sentiment has increased,” says
Felix Korner, a German Jesuit whom the Vatican sent to Ankara to
encourage a Christian-Islamic dialogue. Turkey’s efforts to enter the
EU have triggered nationalist counter-reactions, says Korner. “Even
in educated circles, people are saying that Turkish unity and national
sovereignty are in danger.”
Risking physical attack
Conspiracy theories have likewise been making the rounds in Turkey
for some time, producing a climate in which Christians distributing
the New Testament risk being physically attacked. In a sermon against
missionaries it distributed last year, the state religious authority
rails against what it calls “modern crusades,” claiming that their
goal is to “turn our young people away from the Islamic faith.”
Priests have been accused of seducing women in their churches or
encouraging young people to engage in sinful acts. Father Pierre
has already won four court cases for libel against defendants
who had spread rumors that he routinely watches porno films with
young people. To protect himself, he now maintains the best possible
relations with the local Turkish hierarchy, routinely paying visits to
the chief of police, the governor and the mufti. “It helps,” he says.
Sixteen-year-old Oguz, Andrea Santoros’s suspected murderer, is
currently being held under high security at the Trabzon prison. Four
bodyguards have been assigned to the boy to prevent him from harming
himself or being silenced by others. He has refused to make any
statements.
Was Oguz truly trying to avenge the humiliation of Muslims who saw
the Danish cartoon controversy as an affront to their prophet, as
his family claims? Or was the murder the work of the Mafia, which
was incensed over the church’s practice of giving shelter to Russian
prostitutes? Or perhaps the boy, apparently a loner, was a willing
tool for nationalist extremists.
According to his family, Oguz, a high-school student, had recently
become “very religious.” “He prayed five times a day,” says his brother
Alpaznar. His father, who runs a dental laboratory in Trabzon, claims
that he first heard about the Muhammad cartoons from his son. “He
was very upset, but I told him that it was none of his concern.”
The father, pale and bald, is constantly jumping up from his chair,
nervously rubbing his hands. He doesn’t have a photo of his son,
holding up a newspaper clipping instead. “I feel bad for the boy,”
he says, sounding almost as if “the boy” weren’t his own child.
Closed for a month
Oguz apparently spent most of his time in an Internet cafe in a
small shopping center in downtown Trabzon. “He was especially fond of
strategy games,” says the owner, Senol Sahin, adding that the boy had
recently become very aggressive. “He would send me e-mails in which he
used vile language. I even hit him once for doing it.” Sahin believes
the boy is “easily influenced.”
On the morning of the murder, Oguz apparently came home and asked for
directions to the Santa Maria Church. Then, according to his father,
he left the house with his younger brother. The murderer must have
known his way around, because the churchyard one passes through to
reach the church lies in the middle of a group of buildings, and is
in full view of half a dozen apartments, many displaying the Turkish
flag in their windows.
The priest’s young Italian housekeeper, startled by the shots, claims
that she saw a silhouette, and that it was that of a man, not a boy.
The church remained closed for one month. Meanwhile, Bishop Padovese
has sent two lay assistants and a visiting Polish pastor to Trabzon,
so that the church can be kept open at least two or three times a
week for the few Christians who still live in Trabzon.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

HALO TRUST COMPANY GIVES MILITARY TRAININGS TO ARMENIANS IN NK
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
The Halo Trust Company registered in the US and England engaged in
illegal activity in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan under the
name of mine clearance. First secretary of Azerbaijan’s Embassy in
Belgium, Fuad Humbetov told APA about it. Humbetov said that the by
its official activity and statements the Halo Trust company questions
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
“According to exact information, the Halo was founded by resigned
military men. The organization members give military trainings to
Armenians in Garabagh,” Humbetov said.
Fuad Humbetov calls on all patriotic Azerbaijanis to protest
against the activity of the Halo Trust. Those willing to join
the protest campaign can send emails to [email protected] and
[email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AND THE PRIZE FOR BEST SINGER IN THE HEMISPHERE GOES TO…
The Telegraph, United Kingdom
April 12 2006
Peter Culshaw reviews the Radio 3 World Music Awards at the Brixton
Academy.
Previous Radio 3 World Music Award winners, from fado singer Marisa
to London-based South Asian vocalist Susheela Raman, will tell you
that winning helped them at a crucial juncture of their careers.
Pakistani artist Sain Zahoor: winner of the Asia Pacific award And the
BBC brand still has serious clout if you are a struggling artist from,
say, Pakistan, as is this year’s Asia Pacific award-winner Sain Zahoor,
actually a little-known artist who captivated the Brixton Academy
with some wonderfully soulful songs in praise of various Sufi saints.
Think too much about these awards, though, and there is something
slightly absurd about someone being the best artist in the category
of Asia Pacific – half the world’s surface – especially as the process
by which the awards are given is rather opaque.
But the awards night, now in its fifth year, does show how vital world
music has become in the cultural landscape, with superb performances
from the prize-winners, including Fanfare Ciocarlia, a delirious gypsy
group from Romania, and the extraordinary, radical grooves of Congo’s
Konono No 1 (scrap-metal percussion, megaphones and thumb piano).
A lone Armenian, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, brought the house down playing
nothing more than a beer bottle and a tambourine. And it would have
taken a heart of stone to begrudge Amadou and Mariam, the blind couple
from Mali, their night of triumph, as they picked up the Africa and
Best Album awards for their bluesy record Dimanche a Bamako after
30 years of struggle. The only question might be why such great pop
artists are not played on Radio 1 or Radio 2.
There were some disappointments among the winners – Souad Massi didn’t
quite convince, Ry Cooder sent a supercilious ditty via video, Nitin
Sawhney only played for a few minutes, and the Club Global category
for DJs needs a rethink (actually, the most vital music in this area
in the last year has been reggaeton from Puerto Rico and Carioca funk
from Rio).
But any carping was swept aside by a well-produced night of mostly
exceptional music. The veteran South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela
presented (along with English roses Verity Sharp and Fiona Talkington
from Radio 3’s Late Junction) and his idealistic comments, such as,
“If you could teach all the politicians music, there would be no war”,
got a mighty cheer from a wildly enthusiastic audience.
However illusory it was, with so many countries and faiths represented,
all of us got a momentary glimpse of potential global harmony.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE WRATH OF NEOCON-JEWISH ALLIANCE
Ali H. Aslan
Zaman Online, Turkey
April 12 2006
We have tried to narrate many times in a proper manner how much
displeasure there was in Washington due to Hamas’ Ankara visit. But
unfortunately we were unable to make our voices heard in Ankara,
especially by our friends with Justice and Development Party (JDP),
just was the case during the Iraq war process. Maybe, those who misread
Ambassador Ross Wilson’s diplomatic politeness, or interpreted it
the way they liked, thought we were exaggerating.
At last, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent Cuneyd Zapsu,
one of his close advisers, and JDP Vice Chairman and Sakarya Deputy
Saban Disli to Washington last week. The aim was to check the pulse
and make some damage control. Alas, it was too late and there was
too little that could have been done…
I was not surprised by JDP representatives’ finding themselves in the
middle of a machine gun fire at the American Enterprise Institute
(AEI) meeting. Zapsu and Disli responded with fire when parallels
were insistently drawn between Hamas and the PKK or DTP. Hence,
they ended up fanning the fire they intended to extinguish…
Some may ask, “Well, to what extent would a meeting at the AEI,
a neo-con castle, represent the pulse in Washington? Plus, hasn’t
the power of neo-cons declined yet?”
Though the “visible” power of the neo-cons has relatively diminished
following the Iraq disaster, their influence within the system,
especially their ideological dominance still very much persists. Not
to mention their close association with the powerful Jewish lobby.
Otherwise, today the US wouldn’t have been heading towards operations
to topple the regime in Iran, another ambition of the neocons and
Israel…
It is this neocon-Jewish alliance which has to a large extent
shaped the US policy on Turkey for many years, with its strong arms
in Congress, bureaucracy, trade and think tanks. Many key figures
associated with this group were present at the AEI meeting. For that
reason, one should consider the meeting important. The neocon-Jewish
alliance has been the leading group who kept the positive interest in
Ataturk’s Turkey alive in Washington so far, due to their US-Israel
focused regional plans and because they are concerned about secularism
in Islamic nations. Some, like Richard Perle, were even making money by
conducting professional lobbying for Turkey. However, things turned the
other way around with the (March 1, 2003) parliamentary motion crisis.
Our neo-con and Jewish friends think they have paid a heavy price
because they preferred going with democracy, that is JDP, before
the Iraq War, at the expense of hurting many from the civilian and
military elite, their traditional favorites in Turkey. Furthermore,
the JDP administration has repeatedly done a lot of things annoying
Americans. Because of the erosion of confidence in Washington,
anything JDP was now arousing suspicion and perturbing people. They
were further infuriated by the latest Hamas move. The fact that
Turkish bureaucratic elite was also by-passed gave the neocon-Jewish
alliance an opportunity to hit free-kicks at the JDP. As a result
of pressures coming from Washington, even Ambassador Wilson, who
has tended to moderate the issue, used the word “disappointment’
last week in regard to the Hamas visit.
As for the Pentagon, the chief expert on Turkish affairs there is
Ambassador Eric Edelman, who has a blood feud with JDP and known
to have close ties with the neocon-Jewish community. Let me draw
your attention to the fact that ties between Turkish and American
militaries, which were considered irreparable, began heading towards
their traditional positive course after Edelman became No. 3 at the
Pentagon. Obviously, the Pentagon, which had a bitter experience
during the Iraq process, is determined to tie its horse to a strong
fence on Iran process…
Don’t even ask me about the Congress. If someone like Tom Lantos,
an influential figure in the Jewish lobby, who has so far battled
against the Armenian allegations heroically, has turned his back
to Ankara, especially against the Erdogan government, imagine the
situation with the rest. No wonder Lantos adviser Alan Makovsky was
one of those who pressed most on Zapsu and Disli about the Hamas
visit at the AEI meeting.
The US State Department is upset, too. But they don’t think high
tension is helpful. However, it is extremely difficult to calm
down the neocon-Jewish lobby. Some have even joined into a feeding
and disinformation chain extended to Washington by certain anti-JDP
circles. Looks like JDP’s weaknesses in pulse-reading, communication
and crisis management will not get any better soon. Yet unless there
is a major democratic accident, both the JDP and the neocon-Jewish
lobby will maintain their position in Turkish-American relations for
a long time. Therefore, it would be useful for both to learn how to
cohabitate as soon as possible…
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESIDENT ALIYEV TO DISCUSS KARABAKH PROBLEM DURING HIS VISIT TO US
Today, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
“Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the United States
scheduled for 28 April has long been planned. During the visit,
bilateral issues between the two countries will be discussed,”
Ali Hasanov, head of Presidential Administration socio-political
department told journalists.
“Measures are being implemented in the field of uniting our efforts to
solve global world, energy and other issues as well as establishing
peace in a number of hot spots of the world in cooperation with the
United States,” Hasanov said.
“We are jointly cooperating in energy and transport projects in the
Caspian Sea basin. The US also supports Azerbaijan’s integration
into world unions. There exists a close cooperation between several
NGOs, democratic institutions of the US and Azerbaijan with regard
to democratization and protection of humans rights,” he added.
During the visit, the discussions will focus on Azerbaijan-US both
bilateral and international relations as well as regional relations
in the South Caucasus and Eurasia.
Hasanov also said the United States as co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group
will focus attention on preserve of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
“The meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents at Rambouillet,
and talks between the Minsk Group co-chairs and the Presidents before
that have represented certain positive nuances. We strongly want
that the problem be solved this year. We want main principles to be
put forward and pressures be exerted on the sides to agree to these
principles. Truth is known, Armenia has occupied the territories of
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has the right to liberate its territories.
Actions will be taken about that. We not only expect the United States
and Minsk Group co-chairing countries but also have confidence in them
to exert pressure on Armenia. Who is responsible for implementation of
the UN Resolution? If Russia, France, US ignore it the OSCE Minsk Group
is needless institution then. It is natural that the United States does
not want that the war break out in the South Caucasus, we do no want it
either. We do not want our oil revenues to be spent on war. However,
for the sake of liberation of our territories we’ll mobilize not
only oil revenues but also families incomes. It is important to put
pressure on Armenia to prevent war,” Hasanov emphasized.
According to APA, the head of the department does not think that the
Azerbaijan-US talks will also focus on Iran issue. He said Iran and
US will decide their relations themselves.
“This issue concerns these two countries. We have relations with the
US as well as with Iran. Our citizens have close contact with Iran,”
he concluded.
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GARABAGH ACCORD POSSIBLE DESPITE STALLING TALKS – MEDIATOR
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
Baku, April 11, AssA-Irada
The latest round of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks to settle the Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict failed, but chances remain to strike a
deal, an international mediator has said.
The parties failed to agree upon the issues of principle during the
negotiations held by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in
Rambouillet, France in February, which was followed by mutual threats.
“The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairs were very disappointed over
the fact no progress was achieved at Rambouillet. But don’t ask me
to elaborate on the details, as the meeting is left behind,” the
French co-chair of the MG Bernard Fassier told a news conference at
the French embassy in Baku Tuesday. He said the year 2005 was very
intense and prolific for Garabagh talks, considering the meetings
the mediators held with the top leadership of the two countries and
their frequent visits to the region.
“The initial principles of a peace accord to be signed were discussed
at all the meetings. The sides reached agreement on a number of these
issues during the talks.”
Fassier said that although the Rambouillet meeting was expected to
foster a common ground on more principles relating to the conflict
settlement, it has been impossible to accomplish the goal after the
presidential talks. “But this does not mean the negotiating process
is over.”
Fassier continued that the co-chairs welcome the fact peace talks
have not been disrupted after the latest meeting in France. He also
expressed concern over the fact that immediately after the discussions,
Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged terse statements and the ceasefire
violations on the frontline intensified.
“Certainly, this is not normal, as the parties have a ceasefire they
agreed upon.”
The mediator went on to say that a resumption of military action
is not a way out and this has been repeatedly stated both by the
intermediaries and the countries co-chairing the Minsk Group.
“War is a very dangerous option, as the side launching the hostilities
could never be sure when the hostilities will end. This holds true
for superpowers as well.”
Fassier said that a start of military action would deal a blow on
Azerbaijan’s prospering economy. Foreign investors making considerable
investments in the country do not want to see this happen either.
Fassier said that President Ilham Aliyev has been conducting talks for
a long time. “He stated during the talks that he supports long-lasting
peace suitable for both parties. The president also said that the
talks will continue even if there is one out of a hundred chance for
a peaceful solution.”
The co-chair said there are currently greater chances for a peaceful
settlement, therefore, the mediators support the continuation of talks.
Fassier said he would inform the other two OSCE co-chairs from Russia
and the United States of the outcome of his visit to the region. The
two will further pay similar separate visits later this month,
followed by a meeting of the three mediators in Moscow to review
progress in the negotiations.
“After these meetings, the principles at the core of a future peace
accord will be developed. The three co-chairs will pay another visit
to the region early in May. The developed principles will be submitted
to the sides then.”
The French co-chair said the date and venue for the next meeting of
the Azeri and Armenian presidents has not been scheduled yet.
Fassier said the talks on Garabagh will continue further with the
intensity observed late in 2005.
“Our objective is to give an impetus to the stalling peace process.
But I cannot say with confidence that we will be able to achieve any
results by the year-end. The only thing I can say now is that there
are currently opportunities to move forward. But the co-chairs’ efforts
are not sufficient for this. As you know, Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev has been invited to the United States, while Russia invited
his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian to Moscow.
This means the co-chairing countries are doing their utmost to settle
the conflict. However, we can only cite ideas and hold meetings during
our visits to the region, but cannot pass a decision instead of the
conflicting sides.”
Fassier said that a peace agreement to be reached in conclusion of
the talks will not fully justify expectations of either side, as this
practice is unprecedented around the world. However, it is possible
for the parties to uphold most of their interests, he said.
The mediator dismissed the reports saying the USA has laid out new
proposals on Garabagh during Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov’s recent visit to Washington.
“US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not present any new
proposals during her meeting with the minister…These suggestions
are nothing new. We are simply talking about advancing the proposals
already made by the co-chairing countries.”
Fassier termed as inappropriate the co-chairing countries’ presenting
proposals separately to the conflicting sides. During all the recent
meetings with Azeri and Armenian diplomats, Secretary Rice cited
proposals that had been agreed upon by all the three countries
in question. He said that prior to his visit to the region, he was
briefed by the US co-chair Steven Mann about the content of the talks
being held in Washington at the time.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress