Author: Torosian Aram

AUTHORITIES VOW TO DISMANTLE ANOTHER 15 ILLEGAL PETROL STATIONS

ArmenPress
Dec 6 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Yerevan authorities have vowed to
dismantle another 15 petrol-filling stations by the end of the year,
which were built in violation of rules. A municipality official said
the authorities started drawing the overall inventory last spring
and have so far closed or dismantled 100 such stations, kiosks, car
washing points and other outlets. He said after a thorough study some
other petrol filling stations would be pulled down.

He said the goal of the inventory is to identify illegally operating
outlets, to dismantle those which were built in violation of the
accepted standards.

Hye Sharzhoom (Fresno, California)
(The monthly newspaper of the Armenian Studies Program at CSUF)
December 2004

BOOK REVIEW: Stone Garden Guide to Armenia is Reliable, Comprehensive

By Alex Bunch
Staff Writer

For the everyday person, there has never been a comprehensive travel guide
to Armenia and Karabagh. Well, now there is.

In Matthew Karanian’s and Robert Kurkjian’s book, `The Stone Garden Guide:
Armenia and Karabagh,’ anyone traveling to Armenia or Karabagh can find
exactly what they need. `Armenia and Karabagh’ is very comprehensive and
you can find just about any piece of information that you are looking for.
If you are planning a trip to Armenia or Karabagh, this is an essential
book to read.

When you look at the table of contents, you can clearly see this book is
indeed as comprehensive as the authors claim. `Armenia and Karabagh’
includes sections such as geography, population, language, sites to see,
transportation, exchanging money, customs regulations, foreign embassies
in Yerevan, and even a very comprehensive section on ecology.

`Of special interest in Chapter Three, Ecology,’ says Robert Kurkjian. `We
felt this was important because we did not just want to promote
irresponsible travel to the region,’ he said.

This is exactly why their book is extremely helpful. It goes beyond the
basic information.

The book is also divided up by region, so one would know what to see with
respect to the area they are traveling to. These individual sections are
full of information, especially with respect to places of interest such as
museums, churches, landmarks and theaters.

What is also great about this travel guide is its structure. All the
information is neatly organized and the index is very helpful to find
information, as well. The entire book, even the maps, is in color. It is a
unique travel guide for the quality of the book, the design, and the
number of color photos.

Having this book as a guide, you cannot go wrong and you are sure to have
a great trip to Armenia and Karabagh.

Most of the information was obviously obtained first-hand by the authors
themselves, who have been traveling to and from Armenia for several years
no, so the information is very reliable. In fact, this alone makes the
book a better guide when compared to the other travel guides to Armenia.

The back cover of the book accurately states that this is an `Insider’s
Guide’ because both Karanian and Kurkjian have been living, working, and
traveling in Armenia since 1995.

If you are planning a trip to Armenia or Karabagh, then this book is a
necessity. When you look at the amount of information available in the
guide, you are sure to have a pleasant trip to Armenia and Karabagh.

End

Presidential adviser expects no “apricot revolution” in Armenia

Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
2 Dec 04

There will be no “apricot revolution” in Armenia, as there is no real
alternative to the incumbent authorities, the president’s security
adviser has said. Garnik Isagulyan said that the former ruling party,
the Armenian Pan-National Movement, was the real opposition and was
gradually trying to move out of the shadows. “The tragedy of the APNM
is that it does not have a leader accepted by the people,” Isagulyan
said, adding that society did not support the APNM’s Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s former president. The following is the text
of Vahan Vardanyan’s interview with Isagulyan published in Armenian
newspaper Ayots Ashkar on 2 December and headlined “There will be no
revolution”; subheadings inserted editorially:

An interview with the Armenian president’s adviser on security issues,
Garnik Isagulyan.

[Ayots Ashkar correspondent] The opposition thinks that the Karabakh
issue will soon become a centre of confrontation. Do you agree with
this view?

[Garnik Isagulyan] Armenia is multipolar and multilayered in its
foreign policy. We do not have the objective of being an appendage of
one superpower against another and it is senseless to search for
external signals of a power change. As for the Karabakh issue, the
policy of today’s authorities cannot be seen as anything but positive
by any Armenian who worries about the national interests.

Victory of “orange revolution” would divide Ukraine

[Correspondent] Mr Isagulyan, against the background of the events
taking place in Ukraine views are expressed in Armenia that Yerevan
will be the next refuge of the “orange revolution”. How possible is
this?

[Isagulyan] Indeed, it seems to become a tradition immediately to
compare the processes of any post-Soviet country with Armenia. That
happened in the case of the Georgian “rose revolution”, now it is
happening with Ukraine. The Ukrainian events showed that the fight is
not in the name of democracy, but between the superpowers and, because
of these actions, the country is divided into two parts. Incidentally,
the majority of the country’s industry, the entire coastline with
ports, that is 80 per cent of the economy, is centred in the
southeastern regions that have a pro-Russian orientation and where
millions of Russians live. For this reason the victory of the “orange
revolution” in Ukraine will at best lead to the gradual separation of
the country and at worst to civil war, which we should not be happy
about or use as a model.

Armenian authorities and people not at loggerheads

[Correspondent] Nevertheless against this background the opposition
has stepped up its activity to a certain degree in Armenia.

[Isagulyan] We saw them step up their activity more seriously in the
2003 elections as well as in the first part of this year. We also know
the slogans on which the opposition tried to base the need for a power
change and they failed. This does not mean that there are no problems
in the country, the authorities are trying to resolve them
gradually. Simply in its turn the opposition did not put forward an
alternative programme. On the other hand, Armenia is a monoethnic
country. Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, power at the top and the state
structures are strong enough. And finally, there is no urgent problem
over which the authorities and the public are taking opposing
positions.

Ter-Petrosyan not accepted by public

[Correspondent] The fact that [ex-President] Levon Ter-Petrosyan broke
his long silence is viewed as an external, western signal. By the way,
he mentioned in his interview that the stage-by-stage option for a
Karabakh settlement, put forward in 1997, was the best and that in
future we will not gain anything more.

[Isagulyan] It would be surprising if the former president said
anything different, because that would mean abandoning his positions
expressed in the well-known “War or Peace” article. As for the option
of 1997, it foresaw the unconditional capitulation of the liberated
territories to Azerbaijan without specification of Karabakh’s
status. It was clear from different statements of the president that
they expected to leave Karabakh within Azerbaijan. Let nobody dispute
that we can reach this worst scenario at any moment and without Levon
Ter-Petrosyan. Today if we suggest the same to Azerbaijan, they will
agree with pleasure. Who will not agree without any effort to get what
he lost forever? I see no trend in the former president’s
interview. His meetings with the political elite of different
countries do not at all mean that the West foresees any action to
return him to politics.

[Correspondent] In that case how do you explain the trend of the
opposition stepping up its activity? Maybe with the help of new
slogans, new ideas and a new composition they hope that the people
will follow them.

[Isagulyan] I have mentioned many times that in Armenia the Armenian
Pan-National Movement [APNM] is the real opposition, it rules all the
other developments from the shadows. Today the APNM is trying to leave
the shadows gradually, as it sees no other force that can take the
flag of the opposition. Simply the tragedy of the APNM is that it does
not have a leader accepted by the people. On the whole it has nobody
except Ter-Petrosyan. Our society’s attitude towards Ter-Petrosyan is
known. Nobody has forgotten the cold and dark years.

No “apricot revolution” in Armenia

One of the leaders of the opposition said once that, as the apricot is
the most Armenian fruit, our revolution will be the “apricot
revolution”. I think that there is no ground for an “apricot
revolution”, as there is no real alternative to the present
authorities that has a programme, the people’s trust and has not been
already compromised.

Interfax
Dec 2 2004

Georgia starts preparations for NATO exercise

Tbilisi. (Interfax-AVN) – Seven officers of the U.S. European Command
left for the Georgian region of Ajaria on Thursday to discuss details
of the upcoming Rescuer/Medceur command post and military medical
exercise with local administrations.

The military medical part of the NATO-sponsored exercise scheduled
for September 2005 will take place in the Ajarian autonomous
republic, “and it is time to determine the facilities that will be
involved in it,” Omar Begoidze, chief of the Partnership for Peace
coordination headquarters in the Georgian General Staff, told
Interfax-Military News Agency.

Tbilisi will host the planning conference of the exercise from
December 6 to 9, he said. In addition to Ajaria, the exercise will be
hosted by the locality of Vaziani not far from Tbilisi.
Georgia hosted previous exercises of this type in 2000 and 2003.

The conference will involve 73 officers representing the U.S.,
Georgia, Albania, Armenia, Moldova, Latvia, Germany, Ukraine,
Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia, Begoidze said.

“All these countries will send their servicemen for the exercise in
2005, and Ukraine and Croatia have displayed special interest in the
event,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Russia does not send its representatives,” Begoidze
added.

Existence of Russia’s radar station in Azerbaijan in question

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
29 Nov 04

The Russian-leased Qabala radar station in Azerbaijan may close down,
if the US plans against Iran come true, Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta
has suggested. Intentions by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and
Natural Resources to monitor the station’s impact on the environment
and an inquiry by the MP from the ruling party on whether ethnic
Armenian officers serve at the station “could hardly happen without
the nod from the top”, paper said. It quoted “informed sources” as
saying that Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry had initiated the campaign
for the closure of the radar station. However, this scenario is
unlikely in the near future as Russia “has a few secret levers of
influence on Azerbaijan’s leadership”. The following is a text of
report by Rauf Mirqadirov in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on
29 November headlined ” The fate of the last Russian military base in
Azerbaijan in question”; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

MPs and ecologists demand closure of radar station

The Azerbaijani parliament demands that the Qabala radar station [in
northern Azerbaijan] be closed down.

The rumours being persistently spread in Azerbaijan, that the
appearance on Azerbaijani territory of US military bases is in the
offing, have made the topic of the withdrawal of Russian installations
from the territory of Azerbaijan timely. The threat applies to the
only Russian military installation remaining in the country, the
Qabala radar station. The issue of modifying the lease terms for this
station has already been raised more than once in Azerbaijan’s
parliament.

The country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has announced
its intention to monitor the impact of the station’s electromagnetic
emissions on nature and human health. Right after that, the press
service of the Russian Space Troops issued a statement that the radar
station’s impact on the environment did not exceed the established
standards. But the reports of various local ecological organizations
assert the exact opposite. Let us note that, in fact, all these
organizations exist on the grants by Western foundations, above all US
ones.

On the basis of the research conducted, the ecologists claim that the
electromagnetic emissions from the Qabala radar station have an
adverse effect both on the environment and human health. In an
interview with a Nezavisimaya Gazeta correspondent, the director of
the Ecological Prognosis Centre, Telman Zeynalov, has said that “even
such representatives of wildlife as bees and snails, which are
resistant to electromagnetic emissions, have died out in this
region”. The research also showed that a percentage of female
barrenness and male impotence has risen in this region. Moreover, as
the ecologists claim, the settlement where the Russian soldiers live
is not exposed to the radiation, since it is [already] situated in a
so-called “dead zone.”

MPs, largely from the ruling party, are involved in the campaign to
get rid of the radar station as well. That could hardly happen without
the nod from the top. MP Cahangir Huseynov has inquired the minister
of defence about whether ethnic Armenian officers are actually serving
at the Qabala radar station. In the deputy’s opinion, that is
unacceptable, even if these officers are citizens of Russia. His
statement immediately received the support of both his parliamentary
colleagues and a significant part of society.

Defence Ministry reportedly initiated the campaign for closure

We have learned from informed sources that the leadership of the
Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has initiated a new campaign for the
closure of the Qabala radar station. Formally, the whole problem is
that the decision of leasing the Qabala radar station to Russia was
supposedly made without taking into account the opinion of the
ministry which, as a source in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence
claims, was against this agreement. But the fact that the Azerbaijani
Ministry of Defence is behind this campaign suggests a lot in
itself. After all, Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev has long
been known as an official who always does everything looking at the
USA.

Of course, supposedly under pressure from internal and, most
importantly, several external factors official Baku may start talks
with Russia on the closure of the military installation. “The
electronic part of the station can be dismantled and taken away. But
it is not this already obsolete equipment that is of most value, but
the building itself as an engineering facility that provides the
electromagnetic emissions. It cannot be dismantled. It can be blown
up, that is destroyed, as was done to a similar station in Latvia,”
believes Casur Mammadov, independent military expert.

The point is not even that Russia did not completely pay off the debts
for the use and energy supply to the Qabala radar station before
signing the 10-year lease agreement that came into effect in
2002. Russia pays only 7m dollars a year to lease the station. At the
same time, Moscow obligated itself to pay off the debt of 30m dollars
for the energy supply to the station between 1992 and 2002, which it
is not yet doing.

Azerbaijan has the necessary legal grounds to start the talks on the
closure of the Qabala radar station. Let us begin with the idea that
nearly a year ago, Azerbaijan adopted a law on national security that
unequivocally prohibits the deployment of foreign military bases on
the country’s territory.

Radar station is formally information analysis centre

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has told Nezavisimaya
Gazeta that the Qabala radar station is operating on the basis of the
leasing contract concluded between the two states, and it would be
wrong to consider it a military base. According to an interpretation
of the parties, the Qabala radar station is an information analysis
centre leased by Russia on the basis of the intergovernment
agreements, he said.

At any moment, the Azerbaijani side may classify the Qabala radar
station as a foreign military base and begin negotiations to close it
down.

US-Russian agreements on closing down former Soviet radar stations not
fulfilled in Qabala

The point is that in the last three decades, the Soviet Union and the
USA, and then Russia and the USA have signed a series of agreements on
strategic weapons (SALT 1 and SALT 2 treaties), strategic offensive
weapons (START 1 and START 2 treaties) and missile defence systems
(ABM Treaty). “These agreements envisioned not only curtailing
missiles with nuclear warheads, but also closing down some of the
early warning radar stations, including the Qabala radar station,
along with the Latvian one. After the radar station in Latvia was
blown up, the parties `forgot’ about Qabala, apparently `by mutual
agreement’. In any case, the provision of the ABM agreement on closing
down the Qabala radar station was not fulfilled, although the parties
did not officially abandon it. That is to say, today the USA formally
has the full right to demand that Russia fulfil this point,” expert
Mammadov claims.

So formally the Azerbaijani side has sufficient grounds to initiate
the start of the negotiations on the closure of the Qabala radar
station. But why start talking about this right now?

US and Russian military’s co-existence in Azerbaijan unlikely

A political analyst, Matin Rasadoglu, believes, that actually it is
unlikely that US servicemen, regardless of under what pretext they are
to be deployed in Azerbaijan, can “be neighbours” to the Russian
servicemen. Reports recently appeared in the Western press that
Washington had begun consultations with official Baku on the
possibility of using the territory of Azerbaijan for delivering
strikes against Iran. If we take into account that Moscow will hardly
want to support this undertaking by Washington, the fate of the Qabala
radar station is obvious: the USA will not allow a “hostile” radar
station to operate in its rear.

The expert believes that developments of this kind are more than
realistic: “Suffice it to recall that right after the appearance of
the abovementioned reports on delivering strikes against Iran using
Azerbaijani territory, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs [Kamal]
Kharrazi announced Tehran’s consent to all the IAEA [International
Atomic Energy Agency] conditions to suspend the programme to enrich
uranium. In the last month, Iranian President [Mohammad] Khatami has
called [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev twice. Just before that,
Tehran at last made a decision on the opening Azerbaijan’s consulate
in Tabriz [northwestern Iran predominantly populated by ethnic
Azeris], although this question had not been resolved for 10 years. In
that way Iran, on one hand, is bowing to official Baku, and, on the
other, is trying to sound out the intentions of Azerbaijan’s
leadership”.

At the same time, the closure of the radar station will not happen
very soon, since Ilham Aliyev “very much `looks towards’ Russia.” In
the opinion of experts, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has a few
secret levers of influence on Azerbaijan’s leadership.

ARKA News Agency
Dec 1 2004

RA Prime Minister and Catholicos discuss church-state relations

RA President Robert Kocharian receives Chairman of National Olympic
Committee of Armenia

First lady of Georgia Sandra Elizabeth Rulofs to arrive in Yerevan
with four-day visit

RA Parliament Deputy elected the Deputy Chairman of PABSEC Committee
on Culture, Education and Social Affairs

********************************************************************

RA PRIME MINISTER AND CATHOLICOS DISCUSS CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS

YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and
Catholicos of All Armenian Garegin II discussed church-state
relations, RA Government press office told ARKA. L.D. –0–

********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT ROBERT KOCHARIAN RECEIVES CHAIRMAN OF NATIONAL OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian receives
Chairman of National Olympic Committee of Armenia Gagik Tsarukian and
the Chairman of State Committee on Physical Training and Sport
Ishkhan Zakarian, President’s press service told ARKA. During the
meeting the parties discussed the program of activities of National
Olympic Committee of Armenia. L.D. –0–

********************************************************************

FIRST LADY OF GEORGIA SANDRA ELIZABETH RULOFS TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN
WITH FOUR-DAY VISIT

YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. First lady of Georgia Sandra Elizabeth
Rulofs will arrive in Yerevan with four-day visit, RA President’s
press office told ARKA. First Lady will visit National Oncology
Center, American Rehabilitation Center of Red Cross and will meet
with teaching staff and students of Yerevan State University. Rulofs
will also attend Tsitsernakaberd and lay a wreath to Memorial of
Armenian Genocide. L.D. –0–

********************************************************************

RA PARLIAMENT DEPUTY ELECTED THE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF PABSEC COMMITTEE
ON CULTURE, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

YEREVAN, December 1. /ARKA/. RA Parliament Deputy Vladimir Badalian
was elected the deputy chairman of PABSEC Committee on Culture,
Education and Social Affairs, member of Armenian Delegation to
PABSEC, RA NA Deputy Mehak Mkhitarian stated today. According to him,
elections took place on Nov 23-25 in Anatolia during 24th PABSEC
General Assembly. He said that it is very important fact,
demonstrating that Armenia not only participates in the works of the
organization, but is involved in administration process. L.D. –0–

Slovakia recognizes “Armenian genocide”

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
30 Nov 04

The date of 30 November is a historic day in the campaign for
international recognition of the Armenian genocide. One of central
European countries, Slovakia, recognized the fact of the Armenian
genocide.

The resolution adopted by the Slovak parliamentarians stressed that
the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Turkey is an undeniable fact
which Turkey must recognize on its way towards the EU accession as a
crime against humanity.

Bratislava also demanded that official Ankara lift Armenia’s
blockade. The resolution was adopted by 70 votes.

RIA OREANDA
Economic News
November 29, 2004 Monday

Yerevan K.S. Stanislavsky Russian Dramatic Theatre season opens in
Moscow

Moscow. On November 26 and 27, season of the Yerevan K.S.
Stanisklavsky Russian Dramatic Theatre, established in 1937 will be
held in Moscow. The shows are directed by Alexander Gigorian.

The Broken Chain play will be presented, directed on the basis of
American screenplay Bound by One Chain by N. Douglas and G. Smith.
The events take place at the end of the 20th century in Siberia. When
transporting from one jail to another, two prisoners manage to
escape. An Armenian and an Azeri are free, bounded by one chain. Far
from people, one on one, filled with hate and contempt for each
other, the heroes encounter different situations, in which only
mutual help will help them to survive.

The events of Pominalnaya Molitva unfold in a small Ukrainian village
Anatovka in the beginning of the 20th century on the eve of the
Revolution. In Antatovka, Russians, Ukrainians, and Jews lived
peacefully side by side for centuries. They lived happily, shared
their joys and sorrows, but each followed their own customs and
traditions, but this did not stand in the way of understanding and
respect for each other. But suddenly pogroms befall the village. Life
is turned upside down. People are forced to live the area.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +3741. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +3741. .562543
Email: [email protected]:

PRESS RELEASE
25 November 2004

Discussion on the issue of “The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan”

in the UN General Assembly Session

“The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” issue was
included in the agenda of the regular session of the UN General Assembly on
November 23. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Eldar Mamedyarov introduced the
relevant draft, while the Turkish and Pakistani representatives Altay
Cengizer and Masood Khalid delivered parallel speeches. US representative
Ms. Susan Moore gave a speech on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the UN,
Ambassador H.E. Armen Martirosyan, presented the Armenian position on the
issue. He implicated the propagandist essence of the Azeri proposal by
recalling that from the very beginning the idea of including the issue on
the GA’s agenda did not have the support of most countries. The MG
co-chairmen also declared their opposition, considering it both destructive
and inappropriate.

“Azerbaijan tries to present its resolution from the perspective of human
rights and humanitarian law,” stated A.Martirosyan. “And it is accomplishing
by the country which has violated these laws itself – planned and
systematically carried out massacres of Armenians in Baku, cities of Sumgait
and Kirovabad from 1988 to 1990 during peacetime, tries to cloak its own
actions by selective application of separate points of international
humanitarian law. It limits the application of the return of refugees to
“the area of conflict” and to ethnic Azeris only, conveniently leaving out
the rights of over 400 000 Armenians under the same laws, particularly those
from the immediate conflict zone from Shahumian, Getashen and Northern
Martakert. Their homes today are fully confiscated and populated by ethnic
Azeris,”- stated the Armenian representative.

“With this resolution Azerbaijan tries to dissect the issue of the
so-called “occupied territories” from the whole package of negotiations.
However, it fails to admit that those territories have come under the
control of Nagorno Karabagh Armenians as a result of the war unleashed by
Azerbaijan in an attempt to stifle the peaceful drive of the people of
Nagorno Karabagh for self-determination,” stated A. Martirosyan.

“Today those territories are serving as security belt around Nagorno
Karabagh. Given the efforts for military suppression in the very recent
past, as well as the war-mongering rhetoric of the current Azerbaijani
leadership, the issue of those territories cannot be resolved unless there
is a resolution on the status of Nagorno Karabagh, and security guarantees
are provided,” stressed A. Martirosyan.

In his speech Martirosyan stated again that Nagorno Karabagh has never been
part of independent Azerbaijan. “The people of Nagorno Karabagh have proven
their right to live freely and securely on their own territory both legally
through a referendum conducted in 1991 in full conformity of the existing
Soviet legislation of the time, and by defending this right in the war
unleashed against its population by Azerbaijan,” stated the Armenian
ambassador. He said that the peace should be achieved, first and foremost,
between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan, which has rejected and walked out
of every single peace proposal made by the OSCE Minsk Group for the last six
years.

“Azerbaijan is not interested in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
Karabagh conflict,” stated Martirosyan. “The increased belligerent rhetoric
and incitement of anti-Armenian hatred in Azerbaijan clearly testifies to
the true intentions of its current leadership. The present Azerbaijani
motion aims at torpedoing the negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group and
diverting the international community’s efforts into parallel processes,
which would allow it to maneuver between them without committing to the
final settlement of the conflict. Azerbaijan tries to use the United Nations
and its General Assembly to do that, Azerbaijan’s initiative to undo the
peace process should not be supported.”

The Assembly was then informed that action on the draft resolution on the
situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan would be taken at a
later date.

OSCE Report On Karabakh Conflict to be Discussed In Baku

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 25 2004

AssA-Irada 25/11/2004 11:53 — The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly special
envoy on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict Goran Lennmarker is scheduled
to visit Baku on Friday. The goal of the visit is to discuss with
Azerbaijani officials his report on the NagornoKarabakh conflict.

The OSCE envoy is expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev,
Speaker of the Milli Majlis (parliament) Murtuz Alasgarov and Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Baku has expressed discontent with some provisions of the report,
head of the Azerbaijani delegation at OSCE PA Sattar Safarov has
said. During Lennmarker’s visit, these disputed provisions will be
clarified and a final version of the report agreed upon, Safarov added.