Category: News

The Courier, TX
Feb 4 2005
Unlikely sidekick flick “Sideways” garners five Oscar nominations

By: Michael Huckaby, Movie reviewer 02/04/2005
“Sideways” is a heartfelt adult comedy about the complexities of
romantic commitment, long-term male friendship and coping with the
disappointments of lost youth.
This charming, sometimes hilarious character study was nominated for
five prestigious Oscars, including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay
and Director. With a subtle though strong and hopeful ending, this
beautifully-paced film is engaging and provides moving cultural
commentary.
The day-by-day story unfolds when two 40-something best friends begin
a road trip to the beautiful wine-growing Santa Ynez Valley of
California, a weeklong tour of vineyards, restaurants and golf
courses, a coastal vacation the best man arranges in lieu of a
mundane bachelor party. Former college roommates, the pair are
diametrically opposite in appearance, character and personal ethics.
Yet this unlikely friendship between an introvert and extrovert is
rock solid and endures incredible challenges.
A connoisseur of wines, sad-sack Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) is a
paunchy San Diego eighth-grade English teacher and struggling
novelist, woebegone over his divorce of two years from Victoria
(Jessica Hecht). Celibate since the breakup, Miles confessed to being
unfaithful, an inebriated one-night transgression he felt
morally-compelled to divulge.
Nominated for Supporting Actor, Thomas Hayden Church plays “Handsome”
Jack, a has-been Los Angeles soap opera star and ladies man who
enthusiastically beds all comers. Genuinely fond of pretty fiancée
Christine Erganian (Alysia Reiner), the daughter of a wealthy
Armenian real estate developer, the marriage promises financial
stability. The future father-in-law has offered Jack a cushy job and
thoughtfully bought him an expensive set of golf clubs for the
journey.
A stop in Santa Barbara, purportedly to wish Miles’ doting mother
(Marylouise Burke) a happy birthday, reveals the mom’s understanding
of her son’s fragile sensibilities. Instead of just handing Miles the
cash he needs, she keeps it in a special hiding place so he can help
himself without the embarrassment of having to ask.
After having devastating Miles with the offhand news that Victoria
remarried a few weeks back, Jack makes a promise he intends to keep.
“My best man gift to you will be to get you laid,” he casually
informs a sullen Miles as the odd couple approaches their hotel. That
evening Jack is quick to note the shy glances Miles exchanges with a
curly-haired blonde waitress at Miles’ favorite valley restaurant.
Earning a Supporting Actress nomination, Virginia Madsen’s portrayal
of Maya is a comforting study of a woman who can come to love a man
for his inner qualities and vulnerabilities rather than his
appearance or accomplishments. A wine aficionado soon to earn a
graduate degree in horticulture, the wholesome Maya was once married
to a boorish philosophy professor.
The following afternoon the buddies meet the motorcycle-riding
Stephanie (Sandra Oh), a wine pourer who believes Jack’s blarney.
When Jack finds out the women know each other, he arranges a double
date, swearing Miles to secrecy about his coming marriage. A
slapstick sequence that finally reveals Jack’s underlying character
involves the misadventures that follow after he goes home with Cammie
(Miss Doty), a chubby waitress married to a truck driver (M.C.
Gainey).
Director Alexander Payne, the real-life husband of Sandra Oh, also
wrote the nominated screenplay.

The Daily Telegraph, UK
Feb 4 2005
Downfall of an elite diplomat
By Francis Harris
(Filed: 04/02/2005)
The damning of Benon Sevan by the interim report on the oil-for-food
scandal is no mere condemnation of an anonymous international civil
servant.
It cuts right to the heart of the United Nations and its highly paid
diplomatic elite.
Mr Sevan, 67, a Cypriot Armenian, has worked for the UN for 40 years,
climbing his way up the ladder in postings as far apart as New York,
Afghanistan and Indonesia. Were it not for the oil-for-food scandal,
he would have retired on a pension estimated at £55,000 a year.
It should not have ended like this. Mr Sevan is judged an
international success story by his own people and is listed on
Armenian websites as a credit to his nation.
The UN bureaucracy wields considerable influence, controls huge sums
of money and is even less accountable than most national
bureaucracies.
For decades critics have alleged that this system has allowed some UN
staff to get rich by milking the generous allowances or, worse, to
become corrupt.
Mr Sevan was appointed head of the oil-for-food programme soon after
it began in 1997. He not only had to deal with one of the bloodiest
tyrannies in the world but also served under the watchful gaze of the
Americans, British, French and Russians, all interested in Iraq but
at odds on how to heal an issue which had soured international
relations for a decade.
Mr Sevan maintains his innocence. He said last year that he had been
unfairly portrayed as a jet-setter.
“I had one day off last year for my daughter’s graduation,” he said.
“I escaped death by a minute in Baghdad in the bombing of the UN
building. When I went on holiday [to Australia], they said I had
disappeared, but I had planned it for two years.”

MENAFN, Middle East
Feb 4 2005
Azerbaijan Gets SR67.5m Saudi Soft Loan Facility

Arab News – 04/02/2005

Saudi Arabia will provide an SR67.5 million soft loan facility to
Azerbaijan. “The loan agreement will be signed tentatively next month
and the funds will be used for building and expanding infrastructure
to boost potable water and power supplies in that country,” said
Naghi Jaabbarov, an Azeri diplomat, here.
On behalf of the Kingdom, Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will
allocate the loan. “SFD Executive Director Yusuf Al-Bassam and Azeri
Ambassador Dr. Elman Arasli discussed the modalities of this loan
facility here on Tuesday,” said Jaabbarov, who also attended the
meeting. He pointed out that the terms and conditions of the credit
facility are easy with 20-year repayment period besides a five-year
grace period.
The loan and the funds already made available to Azerbaijan are used
to build infrastructural facilities, which were largely damaged
during the Armenian aggression. The diplomat said that Riyadh has
always been extending a helping hand to Baku. A young nation,
Azerbaijan regained independence after the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1991.
Asked about other SFD-funded projects, he said the Saudi aid
organization has also signed an agreement with the Azeri government
to fund the construction of five schools for 1,280 children in each
of the five densely populated districts of the Azeri capital. More
than 200 schools have been built in that country over the past eight
years using foreign funds including Saudi money. Azerbaijan is also
seeking SFD’s support to execute a multimillion-riyal road project.
Many Arab organizations including the Jeddah-based Islamic
Development Bank (IDB) have come forward to support Azerbaijan in
implementing projects in different sectors, especially
infrastructural projects. A Saudi entrepreneur has also invested in a
major hotel project.
A group of 63 Azeri doctors arrived in Saudi Arabia recently. It was
the third group of Azeri doctors recruited by the Kingdom to be
deployed at different Saudi health institutions.

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 4 2005
Condolences for Zhvania
President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
Robert Kocharyan notes in his telegram to Mikheil Saakashvili, “Zurab
Zhvania made a tremendous contribution to democratic reforms in
friendly Georgia. On behalf of the Armenian people and also on my
behalf I express deep condolences to you and to the relatives of
Zurab Zhvania”.
Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanyan, meanwhile,
cancelled his visit to Tbilisi planned for February 3-4. He learnt of
Zhvania’s death on route, his press office said, and decided to
return to Yerevan.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Feb 4 2005
Storm in a teacup
By Jean Christou
English School answers accusers after student protest
THE ENGLISH School Parents Association said yesterday the issue of a
tiny number of pupils objecting to a visit by Gideon bible
distributors had been blown out of proportion.
Chairwoman Magda Nicholson told the Cyprus Mail that the association
did not have any objections to the visit by the Gideon representative
to the school. Gideon bibles are most famous for being placed in
public places all over the world and are distributed free by a
100-year old Christian organisation, which has made it its life
mission to do so.
Earlier this week when a representative visited the English School,
seven Greek Orthodox pupils walked out in protest, claiming it was an
attempt to `convert them’.
The incident was sensationalised in the local press, saying the
pupils had been threatened with expulsion. The school reportedly said
it had received permission from the Church but the headmaster could
not be contacted yesterday.
`Seven pupils out of 900 is not a very representative number,’
Nicholson told the Cyprus Mail. `What was talked about by the
spokesman of these people was not in a religious context. He talked
about love and how love can keep us all together and whoever would
like to read the bible could have one free of charge.’
Nicholson said the Gideon representative did not speak about any
particular religion during his brief talk.
`It wasn’t a bible thing and if anyone had grounds to object it
should have been the Turkish Cypriots,’ she said. `I had a meeting
with the Turkish Cypriot parents on Tuesday night and none of them
mentioned it.’
Nicholson said the English School catered for all of the different
religions of its pupils, who are mainly Greek Orthodox. `There is a
Greek Cypriot Religious Instruction teacher, a Turkish Cypriot
teacher who teaches Islam, and also religious teachers for the
Armenian pupils,’ she said.
She added that the school’s student council had objected to the
actions of the seven pupils and were planning to publish an
announcement about it. `The kids are being punished not on the
grounds of their objections to what they heard but for showing
disrespect to guests at the school,’ she said.
`It’s a tolerance issue. There has to be religious tolerance. The
whole thing was blown out of proportion.’
According to their website the Gideons International, founded in
1899, serves as an extended missionary arm of the church and is the
oldest Christian business and professional men’s association in the
US.
The association has more than 236,000 members, located in 179
countries of the world. They are `united in carrying out the same
program using the same methods to accomplish the one objective of
winning others to Christ’.
The primary function of The Gideons is the placing and distributing
Bibles and New Testaments in as many places as. `Gideons as laymen,
stand shoulder to shoulder as missionaries of local churches and
their pastors in going to the four corners of the world to win others
for the Lord Jesus Christ,’ the mission statement said.
Annually, The Gideons International is placing and distributing more
than 59,000,000 scriptures worldwide. `This averages one million
copies of the Word of God placed every seven days, or 112 per
minute.’

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Feb 3 2005
Azeri army purge
Is the Defense Ministry weeding out officers for financial
misdemeanors, or because they are viewed as disloyal to the regime?
By Jasur Mamedov in Baku for IWPR (04/02/05)
About 10 officers in Azerbaijan’s army have been arrested and dozens
more demoted for bribery in recent weeks. The defense ministry
advertised the move as the beginning of a sweeping anti-corruption
drive, stated as a response to a new anti-corruption bill which
President Ilham Aliev signed into law by the president on 1 January
2005. But some observers are asking whether the officers who have
been targeted are really thought to be on the take, or whether they
make convenient scapegoats because their support for the regime is
viewed as suspect. `The officers in question are accused of forging
some papers in 2003 to let some draftees dodge conscription,’ defense
ministry spokesman Ramiz Melikov told IWPR. Melikov declined to name
the officers or reveal how many were involved, citing confidentiality
restrictions surrounding the investigation. Without saying that
corruption is a problem in the military, Melikov said the arrests
could be linked to the new anti-corruption law, which applies to all
government agencies including the armed forces. To comply with the
law, the defense ministry is now obliged to run checks on its staff.
`The defense ministry audits its ranks on a regular basis, and
punishes offenders,’ said Melikov said. The new law against
corruption was passed under pressure from international lending
institutions, which set it as a precondition for advancing further
credit to the Azerbaijani government. Azerbaijan set up an
anti-corruption commission in April 2004, headed by presidential
chief of staff Ramiz Mehtiev. Now that the new law has been enacted,
the commission is gearing up for a series of audits targeting
government bodies and the armed forces.
Incidents of bribery?
The incidents of bribery that led to the arrest of the army officers
were exposed on 13 January, when Mehtiev’s commission announced the
findings of an audit of the Barda Corps conducted in December 2004.
The corps is stationed 40 kilometers from the ceasefire line
separating Azerbaijani from Armenian forces around Nagorno Karabakh.
Some details of the case were leaked to the press earlier via a
retired army officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Uzeir Jafarov, who named two
officers who had been arrested. More recently, it transpired that two
other men, who commanded military units belonging to the Barda Corps,
were taken into custody around 20 January. A criminal file has been
opened on another officer in one of the units, and several more
high-ranking officers have been demoted or sacked. Retired army major
Alekber Mamedov, who heads the non-government Centre for Civilian
Supervision of the Armed Forces, agrees that corruption is widespread
in the army. However, Lieutenant-Colonel Jafarov, who dismissed from
the army in 2003, does not believe these arrests mean the defense
ministry is genuinely committed to rooting out corruption. Instead,
he thinks the officers concerned were removed for political reasons.
`The arrests at the Barda Corps were politically inspired,’ he said.
`I know for a fact that many officers in Barda voted for Isa Gambar
in the last presidential elections.’ Gambar is the leader of the
opposition Musavat party who challenged the current president, Ilham
Aliev, in 2003. According to Jafarov, officials were so alarmed by
the level of support for the opposition that Defense Minister Safar
Abiev took steps to get rid of the dissidents. To back up this
version of events, Jafarov says the Barda Corps commander-in-chief
Talib Mamedov tried to protect his subordinates, and was immediately
shunted off to a minor diplomatic post in Kazakhstan. A Defense
Ministry staffer who did the same found himself similarly dispatched
abroad, in his case to Azerbaijan’s embassy in Pakistan. `With these
two out of the picture, they swooped on the other officers,’ said
Jafarov.
Financial insecurity
Alimamed Nuriev, who heads the Azerbaijani parliament’s commission
for defense and national security, believes the anti-corruption drive
is real. `The events at Barda show that the ministry is getting
serious about corruption,’ he said. `I believe that in a month or
two, we will see the results of this anti-corruption initiative
across all government agencies, including the defense ministry.’
Whatever the truth about the accusations made against the Barda unit,
many officers and soldiers in the corps told IWPR that bribery was
rampant. `In return for a monthly fee paid to their superiors, dozens
of soldiers on the payroll were allowed to live in their homes while
officially serving in the unit. This was common practice here,’ a
Barda Corps soldier, who declined to be named, told IWPR. `Hundreds
of soldiers were never paid their wages. Most of our wages were
deducted under various pretexts such as building a new mess hall or
something.’ Major-General Tajeddin Mehtiev, a former defense minister
who now works at the ministry’s Centre for Military Studies,
prescribes reform rather than punishment. `I don’t think punitive
action alone can prevent offences in the army. The root of the
problem is that military servicemen feel financially insecure,’ he
said. `We should give our soldiers a pay rise to at least 100 US
dollars a month [current pay is between four to 10 dollars], and pay
at least 500 dollars a month to our officers, who are now earning
between 100 and 150 dollars. That would be a strong disincentive to
corruption.’
Jasur Mamedov is a reporter for Zerkalo newspaper in Baku.
This article originally appeared in Caucasus Reporting Service,
produced by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
Caucasus Reporting Service is supported by the UK Foreign Office and
the US State Department.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Feb 4 2005
Dr. Laciner: `Turkish-Armenian Alliance is not Impossible’
Jan SOYKOK, ANKARA – Dr. Sedat Laciner told JTW that Turkey-Armenia
alliance is possible. Laciner said Armenian state cannot survive in a
hostile region and has to solve its problems with Turkey, Georgia and
Azerbaijan.
Laciner further continued:
`As a matter of fact that neither the Western States nor the Armenian
Diaspora radicals see Armenia’s national interests as their priority.
Armenia’s and Diaspora’s interests are not the same. As Dr. Nilgun
Gulcan pointed out Armenia and Diaspora has contrary interests.
Diaspora needs more dispute between Turks and Armenians, because many
Diaspora Armenian enjoy from the `genocide industry’. If Turkey and
Armenia solve their problem they could not abuse the past for their
individual interests. Many diaspora institutions are dependent on
`genocide donations’. Many Armenian actors, businessmen, politician
etc. in Northern America and Europe see Turkish-Armenian problems as
source of power. When the both side put an end to the historical
misunderstandings many militants will lose their financial and
political power over the ordinary Armenians in diaspora. Similarly
some of the Diaspora institutions argue that the 1915 Legacy is the
most important thing uniting Armenians. According to this approach,
Diaspora Armenians need a uniting cause in order to resist
assimilation. Otherwise, they think, Armenian identity would be
diminished in front of the strong Western cultures.
However Armenian state needs Turkey and other Turkic peoples.
Armenia is surrounded by more than 100 million Turkish people
(Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran Azerbaijan). Georgia is an ally of
Turkey and has good relations with the Western states though Armenia
stayed the only Russian ally in the region.
Armenia is a relatively small and poor country, it is land-locked. If
Armenia can solve its problems with Turkey the life would be easier
for the Armenians.
In my opinion Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan could establish
an economic regional integration in Caucasus. Turkey could be a
European door for the Armenian businessmen and people. Turkish
universities can open their doors to Armenian youth. Armenia cannot
survive in a hostile region. So-called Russian support or relations
with Iran cannot substitute relations with Turkey. A strong
Turkish-Armenian regional ally would change a lot in the region. If
Turkey and Armenia can establish a strong friendship, foreign direct
investment would boom, security problems down, and the region would
become a trade centre for the Central Asia, Black Sea and the Middle
East’.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Feb 4 2005
Turkish Prime Minister and French Assembly Speaker Discuss Turkey’s
EU Membership
Jan SOYKOK, ANKARA (JTW and News Agencies) – President of the French
National Assembly Jean Louis Debre met Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip
Erdogan yesterday.
Louis Debre asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about
the
implementation of reforms which Turkey fulfilled in the EU process.
Debre also asked improvement in Cyprus issue and relations with
Armenia.
Turkish PM Erdogan told Debre that France and Turkey share common
values like democracy, freedom, human rights and supremacy of law.
Noting that Turkey tries to effectively implement the reforms it made
in the EU process, Erdogan said Turkey’s EU membership will further
improve the political and economic relations between Turkey and
France.
Tayyip Erdogan said Armenian allegations should be left to
historians. “If their historians have claims, our historians have
claims too. They shall study Ottoman archives” added Erdogan.
Erdogan further said Turkey does not have any problems with its
Armenian citizens’.
“We opened our archives and we provide any assistance to Armenian
historians and scientist who wish to study Ottoman documents.
Armenians should also open their archives,” he added.
Dr. Laciner: `France Should Not Sacrifice For Armenian Radicals’
There is a strong Armenian diaspora lobbying in France and the
Armenian allegations is a domestic issue in France. However Dr. Sedat
Laciner argues French politicians should not sacrifice Turkish-French
relations for their domestic political interests. Dr. Laciner further
continued:
`As a matter of fact that neither French politicians nor the Armenian
Diaspora radicals see Armenia’s national interests as their priority.
Armenia’s and Diaspora’s interests are not the same. As Dr. Nilgun
Gulcan pointed out Armenia and Diaspora has contrary interests.
Diaspora needs more dispute between Turks and Armenians, because many
Diaspora Armenian enjoy from the `genocide industry’. If Turkey and
Armenia solve their problem they could not abuse the past for their
individual interests. Many diaspora institutions are dependent on
`genocide donations’. Many Armenian actors, businessmen, politician
etc. in Northern America and Europe see Turkish-Armenian problems as
source of power. When the both side put an end to the historical
misunderstandings many militants will lose their financial and
political power over the ordinary Armenians in diaspora. Similarly
some of the Diaspora institutions argue that the 1915 Legacy is the
most important thing uniting Armenians. According to this approach,
Diaspora Armenians need a uniting cause in order to resist
assimilation. Otherwise, they think, Armenian identity would be
diminished in front of the strong Western cultures.
However Armenian state needs Turkey and other Turkic peoples. Armenia
is surrounded by more than 100 million Turkish people (Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Iran Azerbaijan). Georgia is an ally of Turkey and has
good relations with the Western states though Armenia stayed the only
Russian ally in the region. Armenia is a relatively small and poor
country, it is land-locked. If Armenia can solve its problems with
Turkey the life would be easier for the Armenians. In my opinion
Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan could establish an economic
regional integration in Caucasus. Turkey could be a European door for
the Armenian businessmen and people. Turkish universities can open
their doors to Armenian youth. Armenia cannot survive in a hostile
region. So-called Russian support or relations with Iran cannot
substitute relations with Turkey. A strong Turkish-Armenian regional
ally would change a lot in the region. If Turkey and Armenia can
establish a strong friendship foreign direct investment would jump,
security problems down, and the region would become a trade centre
for the Central Asia, Black Sea and the Middle East’.

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 4 2005
Doctors call for release of former minister
Mirtskhulava’s condition requires medical attention impossible to
administer in prison hospital, they argue
By Mary Makharashvili
Doctors of Davit Mirtskhulava have said that the former chair of the
Energy Regulatory Commission needs permanent treatment that is
practically impossible to administer in the prison hospital.
The doctors gave evidence on behalf of Mirtskhulava at
Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi Regional Court on January 31, saying that his
current condition is very serious, and that he needs to be released
from prison so that he can receive the appropriate treatment. Doctor
Irakli Seria also declared that he would assist Mirtskhulava in
proving his innocence.
Despite his poor health, the former chair of the Energy Regulatory
Commission attended the court proceedings in the caged defendant’s
booth. Walking into the court room, he showed a serious limp, thought
to be a result of his ill health and a heart attack earlier this
year.
There he heard his lawyer Otar Gamkrelidze state that Mirtskhulava is
being detained illegally. “I think that he is an illegal prisoner as
the charge that Prosecutor’s Office has raised against him is not
proved based on the law and that is why there are so many violations
in this case,” said Gamkrelidze.
Another lawyer Eka Beselia commented on her colleague’s vast
experience, saying, “Gamkrelidze has directly said that he has never
heard of this kind of a thing during his years of legal practice,”
she said, adding that she has every confidence of proving her
client’s innocence.
However, while Prosecutor Kakha Machavariani said Mirtskhulava’s
lawyers were entitled to express their opinions, he also repeated the
charges facing Mirtskhulava: abuse of power and hiding secret
materials.
“He is accused of abuse of power while Georgian Minister of Fuel and
Energy, which the Prosecutor’s Office states seriously damaged the
country economically,” Eka Beselia explained to The Messenger.
In particular, the General Prosecutor’s Office named a contract
agreed with Armenergo during the period when Mirtskhulava was
minister, which the investigation claims is one-sided and
artificially increased Georgian Railway’s debt to Armenergo from USD
4 million to USD 6 million.
The investigation says that Mirtskhulava agreed to this in return for
certain benefits – namely, helping mediator company
Energomanqkorporatsia to embezzle 90 percent of the USD 6 million
transmitted from Georgian Railway. Georgia still had to pay the debt
as a result of the one-sided contract Mirtskhulava had signed.
As for the second charge against Mirtskhulava – that he took secret
materials relating to Georgia-Armenia criminal relationships from the
Energy Ministry and hid them in the office of the National Regulation
Commission – Beselia said that according to the legal documents could
only be considered as hidden if Mirtskhulava had kept them at his
private home or some other place besides the state structures.
Mirtskhulava is the first high ranking official from the Shevardnadze
administration whose case has come to court, as most others who have
been charged by the General Prosecutor’s Office have preferred to pay
money for their freedom.
The total sum that the Prosecutor’s Office requests Mirtskhulava pay
is over USD 2 million plus fines, but the former minister protests
his innocence, adding that he does not have enough money to buy his
way out of jail.
If the court finds Mirtskhulava guilty he faces twelve years
imprisonment, but as Beselia told The Messenger, they will not give
up and will fight to the end to prove the truth, even if the case
goes up to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.
From: Baghdasarian

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 4 2005
Baku ready for dialogue with Armenia on Karabakh issue
According to the Azeri newspaper Zerkalo.Baku, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Araz Azimov states that Baku is ready
to hold talks with Yerevan regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue only
after Armenian troops leave occupied areas of Azerbaijan.
The paper reports that evidence gathered by the Azerbaijani
government were presented at an official meeting of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. “We got acquainted with the materials and plan to
investigate them now, ” stated the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE
Minsk group Yuri Merzliakov. According to an agreement between the
OSCE mission and Baku, experts will visit all 7 occupied regions
around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Merzliakov said that the mission would be accompanied by no one from
the Azerbaijani side. According to co-chairman of the MG of OSCE
Bernard Fassie, the mission will work on the occupied territories for
more than a week. “Then experts will prepare a technical report and
present it to the co-chairmen,” he said.
Establishing settlements in the occupied Azeri territories is being
implemented by the direct participation of Armenia, the paper writes.
The Azerbaijani side presented documents that proved the settlement
of the occupied territories. Azimov said that about 23,000 Armenians
are living illegally on the occupied territories.
The documents also provide information regarding the use of occupied
territories for illegal trade of drugs and organized criminal
activities. Azimov also expressed his attitude toward the PACE
resolution regarding Nagorno-Karabakh.
The president of Azerbaijan also hosted the co-chairmen of the Minsk
Group and the mission that is studying issues of possible illegal
settlements in occupied Azeri territories. He said that the illegal
settlement of these territories by the Armenian side is a serious
obstacle for the achievement of long-term peace.