Category: News

Azeris surprised at Kazakh minister’s letter on Armenian officer’s killing
ANS TV, Baku
13 Mar 04
Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev has sent a letter of
support to his Armenian counterpart, Vardan Oskanyan. Tokayev assured
Oskanyan in his letter that Kazakhstan had taken the tragic news about
the murder of an Armenian officer [at a NATO course in Hungary] with
concern and pain. We condemn this inhumane and savage incident and
believe that such actions cannot be justified.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry is at least surprised at Astana’s
lopsided position on this dubious case which is being investigated.
This position is rather cold-blooded with regard to Armenian
atrocities on Azerbaijani territory and the Xocali genocide [massacre
of Azeris in Karabakh].
As for the Kazakh embassy in Azerbaijan, it has no details of Mr
Tokayev’s letter.

Azeri leader, US general discuss stability in Caucasus
Space TV, Baku
13 Mar 04

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by the
deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles Wald, a short
while ago.
Welcoming the guests, Aliyev said that bilateral US-Azerbaijani
cooperation has been successfully developing in all fields. Aliyev
regretted that there was instability in the Caucasus as a result of
the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands and other regional
conflicts. These conflicts have resulted in the eviction of a large
number of refugees from their native lands.
Aliyev expressed his confidence that it would be possible to urgently
settle the conflicts and achieve stability in the region as a result
of the international community’s efforts.
In turn, Wald said that Aliyev’s leadership and efficient policy would
bring about positive changes in the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Radioactive material seized on Georgian-Armenian border
Kavkasia-Press news agency
13 Mar 04
TBILISI
[Georgian] border guards have detained a citizen of Armenia at
Sadakhlo checkpoint on the Georgian-Armenian border as he tried to
smuggle radioactive material into the country.
Kavkasia-Press was told by the border agency’s press office head,
Shalva Londaridze, that according to preliminary information, a
citizen of Armenia had been detained. The border agency has launched
an investigation into the matter, Londaridze said. [Passage omitted]

Military aid to Azerbaijan to guarantee Caspian security – US official
Trend news agency
13 Mar 04
BAKU
Trend correspondent S. Agayeva: As a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group for the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement, the USA cannot take
anyone’s side in the conflict, and it is impossible to use US military
aid in the conflict, Trend news agency has quoted US Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Elizabeth Jones
as saying.
Jones said that US military aid to Azerbaijan is to guarantee the
security of the Caspian Sea. “There is a danger today that the Caspian
Sea may turn into a transit area for terrorists, a route for the
transportation of materials to produce weapons of mass destruction and
other transnational threats. We have to increase the possibilities of
Azerbaijani marine border guards to carry out a struggle against these
threats,” she said.
According to Jones, the modernization of an Azerbaijani air base,
which is used by US aircraft for flights to Afghanistan, is another
purpose of military aid. All this is to help the USA’s fight against
terrorism, she added.
Jones believes that Armenia should not protest against military aid to
Azerbaijan. “Neither Armenia, Russia nor any other regional state
wants the Caucasus to be used for helping terrorists,” she said.
The US Department of State proposes to the Congress to allocate 8m
dollars to Azerbaijan and 2m dollars to Armenia as military aid in the
fiscal year 2004.