Category: News

THERE ARE GOOD CONDITIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN
AZERBAIJAN AND GREAT BRITAIN
AzerTag
September 22, 2004
On September 21, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov has met with the special representative of the Great
Britain on Southern Caucasus Brian Fall, who is now visiting
Azerbaijan.
As was informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, having noted development of relations between
Azerbaijan and the Great Britain, Mr. Brian Fall has especially
emphasized presence of favorable conditions for continuation and
henceforth cooperation between our countries. Having stated that rich
natural resources of Azerbaijan create for it favorable economic
opportunities, the visitor has noted importance of the even greater
attraction in our Republic of the English investors.
Highly having estimated cooperation between our countries, minister
Elmar Mammadyarov has agreed with ideas concerning expansion of
economic relations. The Minister spoke of the importance of attraction
of the English investors not only in oil sector, but also in non-oil
sector of Azerbaijan. Mr. Mammadyarov has expressed confidence that
meetings, conferences and other actions render positive influence on
process of expansion of economic relations between our
countries. Highly having estimated connections of our countries not
only in economic sphere, but also in the field of politics, the
Minister has expressed hope for support of the Great Britain in the
question of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh
conflict.
Having emphasized that his country supports withdrawal of the armed
forces of Armenia from the occupied Azerbaijan territories, special
representative Brian Fall has emphasized confidence of returning of
the IDPs to their native lands. The British visitor has expressed hope
that the Nagorny Karabakh conflict would be settled by peace way on
the basis of norms and principles of international law.
At the meeting, also present was the ambassador of the Great Britain
in Azerbaijan Mr. Lawrence Bristow.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

22 September, 2004
”Azerbaijan’s Precarious Balancing Act”
The geostrategic nerve center of the Caucasus is Azerbaijan with oil
reserves possibly totaling one-hundred billion barrels. The country is
coveted as an ally or at least a benevolent neutral by regional and
world powers: Iran, Russia, the Franco-German combination and the
United States. Each of those powers has its own interests, which
creates a complex pattern of convergence and divergence among them.
As the object of active interest by powers that are politically and
economically stronger than itself, Azerbaijan is threatened with
dependency if it falls into the hands of any one of them, but it also
has an opportunity for autonomy if it can successfully play them off
against one another and maintain a balance of power. With autonomy as
its goal, the government of President Ilham Aliyev has pursued a
“balanced” foreign policy, opening up diplomatic channels with all of
the interested states and giving each of them the hope of satisfying
some of its own aims, while Baku maneuvers to achieve its vital
interests.
As the Aliyev regime perceives them, the vital interests of Azerbaijan
are to settle jurisdictional issues over rights to Caspian Sea oil,
ensure security of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline that will move the oil
west, secure investment from varied sources on the best terms to
develop its oil industry and the rest of its economy, avoid economic
or military dependence on any foreign power as it pursues development,
and resolve the issue of the breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh by
regaining sovereignty over it. From Baku’s viewpoint, Azerbaijan’s
future is that of a rising power that will be able to maintain genuine
independence in the long term if it can manage the transition to
prosperity by skillfully performing its balancing act.
The Balanced Strategy
Baku has been able to pursue its balanced strategy because none of the
powers impinging on it poses a direct military threat to the
regime. The Franco-German combine by necessity is restricted to
economic and diplomatic influence, and neither Iran, Russia nor the
United States is currently interested in making any provocations that
would lead the others into a confrontation with it and risk
instability in the oil patch. Each of the impinging powers would like
to draw Azerbaijan into its orbit, but their room for action is
limited by the others, leaving Baku with a measure of freedom to make
deals with all of them and also to refuse their proposals.
>From the viewpoint of its vital interests, Baku counts on Washington
for help in settling Caspian Sea jurisdiction, since Iran and Russia
border Azerbaijan on the Sea and are competing interested
parties. Baku also expects Washington to make sure that the
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline is secure. In the sphere of economic development,
Baku wants investment from all of the interested parties, particularly
the Franco-German combination. It also wants help from any of them on
the Karabakh problem.
In return for its protection and in pursuit of its perceived vital
interests, Washington would like to establish a military presence in
Azerbaijan as part of its policy of securing oil supplies by
encircling and containing Russia and Iran. In response, Russia and
Iran want Azerbaijan to remain free of American bases. This
configuration of economic and strategic interests allows for a balance
of power in which Baku undertakes limited military cooperation with
Washington and Moscow, and maintains friendly relations with Iran,
satisfying each of them a little and antagonizing none of them. The
wild card is Karabakh, which destabilizes the balancing act.
Nagorno-Karabakh
After achieving independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan
was faced with a rebellion in the Armenian-dominated region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which occupies a significant portion of the
country’s southwest. Several years of war, ethnic cleansing, pogroms
and massacres led to the de facto independence of the breakaway region
under the protection of Armenia. In implementing its protective role,
Armenia also occupied areas of Azerbaijan bordering Karabakh, carving
out a corridor from the region to Armenia. The troubles created bitter
hostility between the dominant ethnic group in Azerbaijan — the
Azeris — and the Armenians, resulting in the unwillingness of either
group to compromise.
Ever since the secession of Karabakh, Baku has been preoccupied with
regaining sovereignty over the region. Karabakh is an open wound for
the Azeri public and any regime in Baku has to reckon with deeply
irredentist and often revanchist public opinion that severely
restricts the ability to negotiate a solution. To surrender
Azerbaijanian sovereignty over Karabakh definitively would amount to a
political death sentence. As a result of intensely nationalistic
public opinion and the regime’s geostrategic interest in Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, the Karabakh problem shadows and warps every
move that Baku makes in its relations with impinging powers. Trade
deals, military cooperation and attempts to attract investment always
have the added motive of securing aid in wresting Karabakh from
Armenian protection. Were it not for Karabakh, Baku would be in a much
stronger position to pursue its balancing strategy successfully,
because it would not be constrained to seek help from the impinging
powers.
Despite its economic potential and strategic importance relative to
Armenia, Azerbaijan has not received significant support for its aims
in Karabakh from interested powers. None of those powers wants any of
the others to have a dominant sphere of influence in Azerbaijan, but
they are also not interested in seeing the country become an
independent regional power in its own right. The United States, with
a large Armenian diaspora and comprehensive geostrategic interests in
the Caucasus, cannot support Baku wholeheartedly. Russia has a long
standing security relationship with Armenia that it is reluctant to
sever. France and Germany have no military influence and find it
difficult to support a turnover of Karabakh to Azerbaijan in light of
their rejection of Serbian claims to Kosovo. Iran, which has a vital
interest in limiting American presence in the Caspian region, recently
declared for the first time its support for restoration of
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Karabakh, marking a minor breakthrough
for Baku.
Up until the present, the impinging powers have supported mediation
efforts by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(O.S.C.E.), carefully avoiding taking either side, which has
solidified the status quo to the advantage of Armenia and the Karabakh
mini-state. Another round of talks scheduled for mid-September in
Astana, Kazakhstan will bring together the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan with Russian and American facilitation.
There is no indication that the two sides are willing to compromise.
Baku insists that Armenia withdraw from all areas of Azerbaijan
outside Karabakh before it will negotiate on any other questions. It
also insists that it regain sovereignty over Karabakh in any final
agreement, though it is probably willing to concede a large degree of
autonomy to the region. Finally, Baku demands that Azeri refugees be
permitted to return to the homes that they fled in the troubles.
Yerevan refuses to withdraw from occupied areas of Azerbaijan before
negotiations on the status of Karabakh and the refugees proceed, and
is unwilling to concede Baku’s sovereignty over the region.
Baku’s response to the deadlock has been a mixture of frustration and
hope. Although it has had very limited success in moving interested
powers to its side, Baku expects that in the long run its growing
wealth will change the balance of power in the region, to the point
that it will be able to overmatch Armenia militarily and solve the
Karabakh problem to its satisfaction by force if necessary. In the
run-up to the Astana talks, Aliyev has stressed that if its aims are
not met by diplomatic means, Baku will eventually opt for a military
solution. There are reports that Azerbaijan is pursuing arms deals
with Ukraine and Pakistan.
Since it is not currently ready to take military action, Baku has
recently shifted its foreign policy to tilt toward Russia. In August,
the Aliyev regime put into effect a law on national security that bans
foreign military bases in the country. At the same time, it has
allowed Russia to have a radar station in Azerbaijan. Baku also did
not apply for N.A.T.O. membership at the Istanbul summit and has
dragged its feet on refreshing its troop commitment to the
American-led coalition in Iraq. Finally, Azerbaijan’s foreign
minister, Eldar Mamedjarov, expressed favorable opinions on Russia’s
design of a Single Economic Space within the Commonwealth of
Independent States (C.I.S.), of which Azerbaijan is a member.
Baku’s diplomatic offensive, which includes frequent discussions with
Germany and France, as well as with Russia and Iran, is aimed at
getting movement on the Karabakh problem in the face of American
inaction. Some analysts believe that Baku is trying to trade a promise
to curtail American military presence in Azerbaijan for Russian
cooperation on Karabakh.
The tilt toward Russia and Iran by the Aliyev regime has occasioned an
American reaction, signaled by an unscheduled visit by U.S. Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to Baku in August. Washington is
particularly concerned about the increasing cordiality of relations
between Baku and Tehran, and growing military cooperation between Baku
and Moscow. During the Rumsfeld visit, Baku reportedly asked for help
on the Caspian Sea jurisdiction issue and did not yield to American
pressure to distance itself from Iran and Russia.
Washington is also concerned about Aliyev’s attempt to fill his
government with a new generation of officials who are loyal to him and
will replace the holdovers from his father’s regime. The direction of
the changeover is toward figures who have a pro-Russian bias. For
example, pro-American National Security Minister Namik Abbasov was
recently replaced by Elman Gambarov who is in favor of closer security
ties to Russia. Although there are internal political tensions within
the regime that motivate the new tilt, it is also conditioned by the
quest for help in Karabakh.
In tilting toward Russia and Iran, Baku is running against the
familiar pattern of resorting to an extra-regional power — here the
United States — to balance strong regional neighbors. The Aliyev
regime has made this move because it has become clear that Washington
will not go beyond its policy of supporting the O.S.C.E. process on
Karabakh. Whether Russia, which is the major third party in the
negotiations, will exert pressure on Armenia remains to be seen.
America’s Slippage in Azerbaijan
The Aliyev regime is not trying to marginalize the United States in
Azerbaijan or more broadly in the Caucasus region, but is simply
attempting to restructure the regional balance of power in its favor.
After the August announcement of American troop redeployment from
Europe to forward staging areas, Azerbaijan was prominently mentioned
as one of the prime sites for new bases. That possibility now seems to
be a dead issue after the announcement by U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Rino Harnish on September 11 that basing is not currently
under discussion. Instead, Baku and Washington will pursue more
restricted forms of military cooperation that do not jeopardize
Azerbaijan’s relations with its neighbors.
American slippage in Azerbaijan is part of an overall diminution of
Washington’s influence in the world after the failures of Operation
Iraqi Freedom. Even if Karabakh were not an issue, Baku would be
constrained to improve relations with its powerful neighbors, because
it cannot count on the United States to be a reliable protector beyond
providing security for the pipeline. With the addition of Karabakh,
the American position is weakened even further.
In a setback to Washington, N.A.T.O. exercises that had been scheduled
to be held in Azerbaijan in late September were abruptly canceled
after the Aliyev regime, bowing to popular pressure, refused to allow
Armenian officers who were supposed to participate in the exercises to
enter the country. Hosting the exercises was a part of Baku’s balanced
strategy, offsetting its cooperation with Russia and the C.I.S. by
ties with the West. Karabakh got in the way.
Conclusion
In light of its strategic situation as a relatively weak power in a
sensitive region that is impinged upon by greater powers, and its
prospects of increasing strength, Baku’s balanced strategy of playing
all sides — sometimes against one another — is rational in terms of
serving perceived vital interests in autonomy and prosperity. In the
absence of the Karabakh issue, that strategy would have good chances
for success. The struggle over the breakaway region places stresses on
the delicate balancing act, threatening to push Baku too far in the
direction of Russia or the United States, both of which are eager to
establish a sphere of influence in Azerbaijan.
If either one of the two most important impinging powers threw its
support to Baku, the regime would be tempted to fall into its camp,
altering the balance of power in the region and impairing Azerbaijan’s
autonomy. At present, Baku is tilting toward Moscow, which has common
interests with Tehran in minimizing American influence. The tilt does
not signal a decisive shift from the balanced strategy, but reflects
the quest for support on the Karabakh issue. If Baku’s current
initiatives do not bear fruit, a tilt back to the United States is
possible.
Since none of the impinging powers seems ready to support Baku,
competition for influence by all parties is likely to continue within
the constraints of a common interest in avoiding significant
confrontation. As Azerbaijan’s sore point, Karabakh will intrude as a
factor in Baku’s decisions that will prevent it from taking full
advantage of the balanced strategy, which remains in its interest to
pursue. The impinging powers will continue to court Baku, but they
will feel no urgency to support its claims unless one of them disturbs
the consensus on avoiding provocation, setting off confrontation and
realignment. An Azerbaijan incapable of taking full advantage of its
position is currently in every impinging power’s interest.
Report Drafted By:
Dr. Michael A. Weinstein
The Power and Interest News Report (PINR) is an analysis-based
publication that seeks to, as objectively as possible, provide insight
into various conflicts, regions and points of interest around the globe.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 16:20:58 | 22-09-2004 | Politics |
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE
On Wednesday, Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan, speaking at a news
conference in Yerevan, estimated positively the Armenian and Azeri
presidents’ meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, but declined to give details. He
said the presidents would tell all about the meeting if they find it
necessary.
Presidents Rober Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev met in Astana last week while
attending the CIS summit. By the end of their bilateral meeting Russian
president Vladimir Putin joined them.
Vardan Oskanyan said he didn’t share the opinion that Russia became too
active in Karabakh conflict settlement issue.
He said meetings with the participation of the third country had always been
held. Besides, Karabakh conflict settlement is within Russia interests, he
added.
Oskanyan is not sure that Kocharyan-Aliev talks started from that very
point, at which they were interrupted because of the then Azeri president
Heydar Aliev’s death “I can only say that the idea hasn’t been rejected”, he
said.
The foreign minister is unhappy about the CE official Terri Davis report on
Nagorno Karabakh and finds it “unacceptable to us”.
The minister doesn’t expect an objective stance also from British David
Atkinson, a new CE reporter on Karabakh, he says he is aware of Great
Britain’s approach to territorial integrity concept. But he says he still
hopes for better, as the report will impact the course of Karabakh conflict
settlement.
It isn’t clear yet when a meeting between Azeri and Armenian foreign
ministers is to be held. Oskanyan will fly Thursday to New-York to attend
the UNO 49th session.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2004
Trial against Six Members of KLO Started At Appellation Court
The preliminary session against six members of Karabakh Liberation
Organization (KLO), sentenced to different terms of imprisonment for
violation of public order has been held under chairmanship of judge
Shain Yusifov in Appellation court on Tuesday.
The defense forwarded solicitation about change of measure of
punishment, concerning accused persons. The court declined this
solicitation and appointed new trial on September 22.
Six KLO members, including chairman of this organization Akif Nagi
and his deputy Firudin Mamedov, were sentenced up to 5 years of
imprisonment for hooliganism, violation of public order. KLO member
held a protest action in front of Europe hotel on June 22 in
connection with arrival of Armenian officers to NATO conference in
Baku and were arrested same day.

Marco Island Eagle, FL
Sept 22 2004
MICMS students compete in Olympic Day
By MARCI ELLIOTT, Staff Writer
September 22, 2004
It was a day for champions.
The academic kind.
Seventh-graders at Marco Island Charter Middle School left their
regular classes Sept. 15 to take part in Olympic Day, an annual event
organized by teachers to help students develop an affinity for
learning through fun.
The event’s awards were styled after the Olympic Games, with gold,
silver and bronze medals presented to the top three teams. In the
MICMS version, the “medals” were made of spray-painted compact discs
that dangled from yellow ribbons around the winners’ necks.
The seventh-grade class, mostly 12-year-olds, was divided into 26
teams of five students each, with each team naming itself after a
country. Team members got to design their own flags, and many sported
their country’s name on their arms and legs or face.
The students performed dances, held relays, worked problems on the
metric system and took part in other activities in the morning. At 11
a.m., they had lunch and munched on popcorn as they watched Miracle,
the 2004 movie about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.
The best part of the day, students said, was when they gathered on
the pavilion that afternoon and the winning teams were announced by
science teacher Shane Totten.
The gold medal went to Armenia, silver to Greece and bronze to
Norway. The champions roared with glee as their classmates cheered
and applauded.
“We really worked hard,” said Tabitha “Taby” Crotts, a member of Team
Armenia.
“We couldn’t have won if we didn’t all help each other.”
Conor Watt said being on Team Armenia meant a lot to him.
“It’s good to represent your own (ancestral) country,” he said. “My
great-grandmother knew what it was like to live there. She fled with
her family when the Turks invaded.”
Some students said their favorite parts of Olympic Day were the
“cotton ball” relay with math teacher Debbie Waldinger and wearing
dress- up costumes with social studies teacher Lori Galiana.
Beata Logan of Team Norway said the event was a lot of fun,
especially the social studies activities.
“It takes a lot of teamwork,” she said.
MICMS Seventh Grade Olympic Day
Gold – Armenia: Conor Watt, Danny Fleming, Chad Severn, Taby Crotts,
Anthony Funk
Silver – Greece: Danin Greusel, Ashley Wierback, Jake Pappas, Dan
Lopez, Nikki Popoff
Bronze – Norway: Nick Thorstenson, Kailey Knudson, Kevin Blaiweiss,
Nick Kalmanek, Beata Logan

Guardian, UK
Sept 22 2004
Ladylike look kills midriffs and matching knickers
Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion editor
Julien Macdonald is a natural born show-off. “Do you like my watch?”
he demanded of well-wishers backstage as his show at London fashion
week ended last night, brandishing a David Morris timepiece encrusted
with diamonds. “It’s worth £92,000. I wish I didn’t have to give it
back tomorrow.”
Last season, Macdonald said that his show might be his last in
London, as he was thinking of moving to Milan; he is still
threatening to leave, only now the pull is towards New York. “I love
London to bits but my business isn’t growing. The other designers who
moved away are doing much better than I am. I’m not making enough
money,” he said.
This was always going to be a difficult season for Macdonald. New
York and London fashion weeks have been united in the view that bare
midriffs and bling are out, ladylike dressing is in. Macdonald is not
known for the ladylike look. In fact, his dresses are so short that
many come with matching knickers.
As a compromise, he settled on prom dresses, tiered and
ultra-feminine, with ruffles and sweetheart necklines, but their
stiffness deprived the Macdonald catwalk of its usual raw energy.
Much better were the flowing, poppy-print chiffon evening gowns, and
the finale, a 1930s-style shimmy of silver sequins with £2m worth of
diamonds adorning one shoulder.
The 1930s, along with the 1970s, have been this fashion week’s
favourite retro reference points. Betty Jackson described the
inspiration for yesterday’s show as the “decadent days of the 30s
together with the louche international lifestyles of the 70s”. For
evening, there was a showstopping long, pale column with Art Deco
silver beading, or a glamorous bead and feather-trimmed kaftan.
Earlier in the day, it was the turn of five emerging designers to
stage mini-shows. Unfortunately, most did little to challenge the
stereotype that young London designers’ collections are ugly,
unwearable, and badly presented.
There was a ray of hope, however, in Gardem, the collection by Garen
Demerdijan, a Lebanese Armenian designer who was born in Beirut in
1975 but is now based in Paris. Although yesterday was his first
catwalk show, he has run a small business since 2001, and has been
stocked in the directional London boutique Browns Focus for six
seasons.
Yesterday’s collection had a sophistication of outlook and quality of
execution that set it apart from other young hopefuls. The gently
spiralling seams, restrained colour palette and effective use of
texture – a dress of creamy crumpled silk with smocking at the torso,
a pleated white skirt with a shimmering silver bolero – was
reminiscent of Hussein Chalayan’s London days.

News24, South Africa
Sept 22 2004
On this day
Highlights in history on this date:
1992 – Azerbaijani-armed forces mount an offensive against the
disputed enclave Nagorno-Karabakh.
2001 – Pope John Paul II visits Kazakhstan and Armenia and cautions
against allowing September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States
to create divisions between Muslims and Christians.
1499 – Turks ravage Vicenza in Italy.
1550 – Holy Roman Empire fleet captures vessel Port of Africa at
Mehedia in Tunis, naval headquarters of Turkish corsair Dragut.
1609 – The king of Spain orders the deportation of the baptised
former Muslims known as Moriscos.
1711 – Rio de Janeiro is captured by the French.
1792 – French Republic is proclaimed and revolutionary calendar goes
into effect.
1862 – US President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation
Proclamation, declaring all slaves in the Confederate States free as
of January 1, 1863.
1914 – A German submarine sinks three British cruisers in one hour
off the Dutch coast; The German cruiser Emden shells Madras in India.
1927 – Slavery is abolished in Sierra Leone in Africa.
1940 – The Vichy French governor-general concludes an agreement that
makes Indochina the largest Japanese military staging ground in
southeast Asia.
1943 – The German battleship Tirpitz is disabled by British midget
submarines in a Norwegian fjord.
1949 – The Soviet Union explodes its first atomic bomb.
1955 – Hurricane Janet, the most violent Caribbean hurricane of the
season, causes almost 600 deaths around the islands.
1960 – A US Marine Corps DC-6 plane en route from Japan to the
Philippines crashes in the ocean 290km south of Okinawa. All 29
passengers are killed.
1965 – A cease-fire is declared in the war between India and
Pakistan, but both sides subsequently violate it.
1970 – Arab chiefs of state send envoys to meet with King Hussein and
Yasser Arafat to persuade them to find a way to contain the fighting
between the Jordanian Army and Palestinian guerrillas.
1974 – Official death toll in hurricane that swept Honduras is put at
5 000.
1975 – Sara Jane Moore fails in an attempt to shoot US President
Gerald Ford outside a San Francisco hotel.
1980 – Iraqi tanks enter Iran, marking the beginning of the Iran-Iraq
War as a full-scale conflict.
1986 – Two hijackers seize Soviet airliner at Ural Mountains airport
and kill two passengers before security agents recapture plane and
shoot the hijackers.
1988 – The government of Canada apologises for the World War 2
internment of Japanese-Canadians and promises compensation.
1989 – FW De Klerk takes over as president of South Africa.
1990 – Jordan’s King Hussein appeals to United States in televised
message to withdraw its troops from Saudi Arabia to avert “death,
destruction and misery.”
1991 – Armed opponents of Georgia’s president seize the republic’s
broadcasting studios and try to forge an anti-government coalition.
1992 – Azerbaijani-armed forces mount an offensive against the
disputed enclave Nagorno-Karabakh.
1993 – Abkhazian rebels in Georgia shoot down second passenger plane
in two days, killing 80.
1994 – Nato aircraft strike at Serbian targets near Sarajevo after UN
troops patrolling the city came under machine-gun and rocket fire.
1995 – America’s Time Warner Inc and Turner Broadcasting System Inc
announce a merger with Time Warner purchasing TBS in a deal valued at
$7.5 billion, creating the world’s largest media company.
1996 – Typhoon Violet veers into the North Pacific after killing
seven and setting off landslides that paralysed transportation in
Japan.
1997 – US President Bill Clinton, speaking at the United Nations,
announces he will submit to the Senate a treaty banning all nuclear
explosions.
1998 – Troops from South Africa and Botswana cross into Lesotho and
storm the royal palace, touching off a gunbattle with protesters.
2000 – The Court of Appeals in London rules to separate conjoined
twin girls against the wishes of their Roman Catholic parents. The
operation is certain to cause the death of one of the girls, and is
therefore forbidden by their religion.
2001 – Pope John Paul II visits Kazakhstan and Armenia and cautions
against allowing September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States
to create divisions between Muslims and Christians.
2002 – An appeals court in the Hubei province of China overturns
death sentences imposed on five members of a banned Christian sect in
December 2001, and orders a retrial.
2003 – The UN and UNAIDS, its Aids programme, issues a progress
report on how member nations were adhering to commitments made during
a June 2001 UN special session on HIV/Aids. It finds that the goals
set by the UN will not be met in many countries unless there is a
significant increase in global commitment

Interfax
Sept 22 2004
Negotiations give hope to resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Baku. (Interfax) – Negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents in Astana in the framework of the CIS summit instill hope
that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved in a peaceful
manner, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said during a
meeting with Philip Dimitrov, special OSCE representative on
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“We believe that the aggressor, Armenia, should be forced to comply
with the four UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict, with
which it has not been complying,” the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s
press service quoted Abiyev as saying.
The defense minister said that the conflict should be resolved while
taking into consideration the territorial unity of Azerbaijan.
“This is necessary also for the security of large economic projects
in Azerbaijan, in which European countries and the U.S. are
participating,” he said.
Abiyev said that in the case of Armenia ignoring these demands,
“Azerbaijan will face the necessity of freeing its territory from an
occupant.”

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Sept 22 2004
EUROPEAN STRUCTURES SHOULD ACTIVLE PARTICIPATE IN SETTLEMENT OF
NAGORNY KARABAKH CONFLICT
[September 22, 2004, 11:20:00]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Republic Elmar Mammadyarov
has met with the vice-president of Assembly of the West-European
Union, the rapporteur of structure on questions of stability and
safety in the Caucasian region, the deputy of parliament of Italy
Marko Zakkera, 21 September.
Mr. Marko Zakkera has arrived in Azerbaijan with the purpose of
gathering the corresponding information and materials for the report
on Azerbaijan, which will be prepared for structure represented by
him, AzerTAj was told from the foreign ministry press service.
Having noted that for this purpose there are all conditions and
opportunities, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has wished the visitor
successes in this work.
Further, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has in detail informed on the
work which is carried out for peace settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, the negotiations held
at the level of country leaders and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and
about a position of our Republic on the said question.
The head of the foreign policy department has especially emphasized,
that the unsolved conflict till this moment renders negative
influence on development not only of Azerbaijan, but also the entire
region, and also on economy of the Armenia. Having noted, that in the
Azerbaijan territories occupied by Armenia, are prepared terrorist
groups and the process is outside of the control of our Republic, the
Minister has stressed the importance of joint efforts in combat
against the international terrorism representing threat for all
mankind.
Having noted, that our country is a member of European family,
minister Elmar Mammadyarov has stated that Azerbaijan has taken the
way of democratic development, has emphasized importance of
activation of participation and activity of the European structures
for settlement of the conflict.
At the meeting, also were discussed other questions representing
mutual interest.

Interfax
Sept 22 2004
Armenia doesn’t intend to join NATO but will deepen relations
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia intends to deepen relations with NATO
but has no plans of joining the alliance, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanian told a Wednesday news conference.
“Our stance amounts to the maximum expansion and deepening of
relations with the alliance. I don’t know what NATO thinks of it but
membership in the alliance is not on our agenda today,” he said.
As for Armenia’s plans for sending a group of 50 servicemen to Iraq,
Oskanian said that it would be a humanitarian mission consisting of
doctors, drivers and sappers.
He emphasized that from the very start Armenia was opposed to
military presence in Iraq.