Category: News

Iran’s presence in region of great importance – Armenian foreign minister
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
14 May 04
Since the first days of its independence, Armenia has attached great
importance to Iran’s presence in the region, which plays a balancing
role, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said during a meeting
with Iranian Oil Minister Bizhan Namdar-Zangeneh in Yerevan.
The Iranian official, who signed an agreement on the construction of
the Iran-Armenian gas pipeline yesterday, noted that this will be a
symbol of strengthening friendship between the countries of the region.
Minister Oskanyan received the Iranian oil minister three hours after
his return from Strasbourg.

Cooperation with Armenia in full swing, Russian premier
Mediamax news agency
14 May 04
Yerevan, 14 May: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said in
Moscow today that “Armenian-Russian relations are developing in
all directions”.
A Mediamax correspondent reports from Moscow that the Russian prime
minister made this statement today during a meeting with Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan.
Fradkov said that the meeting with the Armenian president would make
it possible to improve the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation.
Robert Kocharyan, in turn, said that while earlier Russia and Armenia
were more focused on military and technical cooperation, today their
bilateral relations cover all spheres, and the sides have accumulated
tremendous potential for economic cooperation.

Iran-Armenia gas pipeline no threat to Russia
Mediamax news agency
14 May 04
Yerevan, 14 May: The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline project does not cause
any anxiety in Russia.
A Mediamax correspondent reports from Moscow that this statement was
made by the chairman of the board of the Russian company Gazprom,
Aleksey Miller, during his meeting with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan yesterday.
For his part, the general director of Armrosgazprom [Armenian-Russian
gas company], Karen Karapetyan, said that Armenian consumers would
continue using Russian gas even after the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is
put into service. Karen Karapetyan explained that Iranian gas would be
used in the production of electricity which will be sent back to Iran.
Aleksey Miller said he had discussed the possibility of increasing gas
supplies to Armenia with the Armenian president. The head of Gazprom
added that the possible increase in the volume of supplies would not
affect the price of gas.
Aleksey Miller and Robert Kocharyan also looked into the prospects
for expanding the capacity of a subterranean gas storage facility in
Abovyan and issues related to the development of the gas transport
system in the region.

Turkey, Azerbaijan to entrap Armenia by stage-by-stage option – paper
Ayots Ashkhar, Yerevan
14 May 04
Text of Vardan Grigoryan’s report by Armenian newspaper Ayots Ashkhar
on 14 May headlined “Is the stage-by-state or package option a
trap?” and subheaded “What should Armenia do?”
To all appearances, the recent developments in the region have boosted
the hope of Azerbaijani diplomacy for the stage-by-stage option of
the Karabakh issue settlement.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s statements that the Istanbul
summit of NATO will give rise to Armenian-Turkish-Azerbaijani
trilateral talks with a resolution on “returning the seven districts
in return for the opening of the railway” testifies to this. In turn,
Ankara is continuing to express “its effusion of love” for Armenia,
and the circles that represent Turkish business have started a wide
propaganda campaign about serious prospects for Armenia if trilateral
Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan trade is restored.
Against the background of such developments, Armenia’s very
careful attitude to possible negotiations between Armenia, Turkey
and Azerbaijan also draws attention. And the most important thing is
that along with stressing the significance of Armenia’s cooperation
with NATO, President Robert Kocharyan declines to go to Istanbul due
to the fact that Armenian-Turkish relations are not good today.
We think that in order to understand the real reasons behind these
events, it is necessary to take the priorities of US policy as the main
engine that will change the regional status quo. In the regional sense,
the “sly step” of US policy is not at all a quick settlement to the
Karabakh issue, but a drastic change in the geo-political situation
in Armenia and in the whole region by opening the Armenian-Turkish
border. They often say that the Armenian-Turkish border will open
at the end of 2004, and this date coincides with the date for the
negotiations on Turkey’s entry into the European Union.
It is clear that the USA’s harshly-worded demands are added to the
demands of the European Union here. What does the fulfilment of such
a demand mean for Turkey, if it is not to lose its younger brother
Azerbaijan? So how to find a happy medium? It is clear and simple: to
connect the problem of opening the Armenian-Turkish border with the
settlement of the Karabakh issue. But how to set this settlement in
motion, if Azerbaijan, as a party that has lost the war, is not ready
for it because of the inevitability of serious losses it will have
according to any “package” [solution]. In any case, there is an option
called a stage-by-stage option under which Azerbaijan and Armenia
will cede something to each other, saving Turkey as a result. With
this aim, Azerbaijan (i.e. Turkey) is putting forward the idea of
returning the seven districts in return for the opening of the railway.
We are sure that under Turkey’s “pressure”, this figure may be reduced
even to “five districts in return for the opening of the railway”. But
this is not important. The most important thing is that before opening
the Armenian-Turkish border, the settlement of the Karabakh issue
should be connected with the process of improving Armenian-Turkish
relations. Because if tomorrow Azerbaijan puts forward new demands
against Armenia, Turkey will immediately agree with them on the basis
of trilateral arrangements. Turkey will do the same, for instance
by demanding that Armenia give up on the international recognition
of the Armenian genocide, and after that, Azerbaijan will deny the
stage-by-stage arrangements in the Karabakh issue, i.e. block the
railway and keep the liberated territories in its hands.
This testifies to the fact that by applying the stage-by-stage option
for settling the Karabakh issue, Turkish diplomacy is simply luring
Armenia into a trap. So President Robert Kocharyan’s refusal to go to
Istanbul was the right step no matter what the reasons behind it. It
is also correct that Armenia refuses to take part in the trilateral
meeting of the foreign ministers with the mediation of Turkey. But we
think that one cannot be satisfied with this, because any trilateral
meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers, irrespective of
Turkey’s mediation, will be used for connecting the opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border to the Karabakh issue settlement.
Armenian diplomacy is obliged to draw up another formula against
the Armenia-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral format, which will be again
based on the idea of lifting the blockade of transport ways. In this
sense, the Armenia-Turkey-Georgia option is preferable, and Russia’s
involvement in the process is an ideal option, leaving the Karabakh
issue only to the OSCE Minsk Group.

Hungary under pressure urging tough punishment for jailed Azeri officer – TV
ANS TV, Baku
13 May 04
[Presenter] The Hungarian Prosecutor-General’s Office has come under
pressure on different levels urging the toughest punishment for
Azerbaijani serviceman Ramil Safarov, charged with killing Armenian
officer Gurgen Markaryan in Budapest. ANS correspondent Parviz Soltanov
has a report from Budapest.
[Correspondent, on the phone] The preliminary investigation into
the case of Ramil Safarov is coming to an end. The precise date of
Safarov’s trial is still not known. The prosecutor said in connection
with Safarov’s case that they came under pressure from different
channels urging the toughest punishment for Safarov.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
The Hungarian press show great interest in this subject.
[Passage omitted: the newspapers reported on the history of the
problem and casualties and described it as an ethnic conflict]
The Armenian circles in Budapest are working together with lawyers
they invited from Yerevan.
Parviz Soltanov, ANS, Budapest.

Dashnaks discuss Armenia’s political situation with US, Russian envoys
A1+ web site
14 May 04
Member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD],
Vaan Ovanesyan and member of the board of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun Armen Rustamyan met on Thursday [13 May]
with the US ambassador to Armenia John Ordway.
The domestic political situation in Armenia was discussed during
the meeting. The sides spoke about the need for a way out from
the current situation. The members of Dashnaktsutyun presented the
party’s attitude to this issue, justifying the ARFD’s and the political
coalition’s positions.
It was noted that destabilization of the situation in Armenia
jeopardizes not only the republic’s development but also in the
whole region.
Armen Rustamyan also discussed the domestic political situation in
Armenia with the Russian ambassador to Armenia, Anatoliy Dryukov.

Avalanche tragedy on Ararat adventure
By Richard Cowper in Erzerum, Turkey
FT.com site;
May 14, 2004
“Avalanche!” The cry every mountaineer dreads and coming from right
behind my left shoulder.
No time to think. No time to waste. Just ski as fast as I can away from
the wall of wet snow sliding down the side of the mountain towards me.
We were in the wilds of eastern Turkey preparing to make one of the
first British ski ascents of Mt Ararat – at 5,137m the country’s
highest mountain and famous in legend as the place where Noah landed
with his ark after the flood.
After less than a minute, near silence.
Even the gale-force wind seemed to have stopped. Then the dawning
realisation, that even though my friend Robert Mulder and I had seen
no-one go under, any one of our three companions might have been buried
under the thousands of tonnes of heavy wet snow that had filled up
the bottom of the steep gulley along which we had been skiing.
We looked for tell-tale signs like skis, bits of clothing or abandoned
rucksacks, but nothing was visible on the surface of the great mass
of avalanche debris.
On our expedition there were 14 people, all of whom were in the
Palandoken area that day, just outside the garrison town of Erzerum,
700 miles east of Istanbul. But only five had been skiing in our
close-knit group: myself and Robert and expedition leader David
Hamilton, along with ex-soldier Alun Davies and Alpine Ski Club
secretary Alasdair Ross. We could not see any of them.
With wind speeds increasing to over 70mph, the spindrift snow blowing
in the air meant visibility was extremely poor. The only sensible
course of action was to assume that all three had been buried.
Robert and I jettisoned our skis and pulled out our avalanche
transceivers, putting them into search mode as we criss-crossed the
avalanche fallout area, the size of a football field, hunting for an
electronic signal that would indicate the position of a body.
Within two minutes Robert heard a series of bleeps and at that
point just under the surface of the snow we could see someone buried
vertically, head up, feet down. I pulled out my shovel and after a
short period of ferocious digging Alun Davies’s head was freed and
to my immense relief I could hear him breathing in fast, short gasps
“Breathe more slowly, if you can,” I suggested as David arrived from
out of the storm to help get rid of the massive weight of snow still
compressing Alun’s chest. By some miracle David had ridden the surface
of the avalanche and managed to cast off both his rucksack and skis,
preventing the snow from dragging him under.
David reckoned that a group of four other members of our expedition,
led by Dr Rodney Franklin, had successfully skied through the very
gulley which had avalanched about five minutes before we had entered
it. This meant that the only person known to be missing was our
companion Alasdair Ross.
I started a new electronic search with a sinking feeling and about
12 minutes after the avalanche had occurred I found a second signal,
coming from agonisingly deep below the surface.
Overcome by a feeling of the need for urgency I shouted: “I need
help. Time is vital. We must get him out as soon as possible”.
I knew from experience that the first 20 minutes in an avalanche
rescue often makes the difference between life and death. But the
hard-set snow was so unbelievably heavy and the angle so difficult
that it took several of us many minutes to complete the strenuous,
and heartrending task of digging Alasdair out.
When at last we managed to free his head and chest, it seemed to both
me and Dr Franklin, who had arrived from below, that Alasdair must
have died from asphyxiation almost the moment the avalanche struck.
I will never forget Alasdair’s face when at last we got him out. He
looked so tranquil and, at the same time, like a waxwork. Only the
night before I had sat next to him at dinner and we had chatted with
animation of past ski trips and adventures the evening through.
An army team arrived and took over the rescue, placing Alasdair on
a stretcher. The avalanche had occurred just over 100metres from the
safety of a military post.
At last I was able to gather my thoughts and I remember thinking:
“Pride comes before a fall!” Only the day before I had been cock-a-hoop
after a personal success on my very first mountain adventure in
Turkey. Robert Mulder and I had arrived late in the Palandoken range
and from the top of the main ski station we cast our eyes to the
horizon at the steepest and seemingly most unclimbable of mountains
and then to each other’s surprise set off at speed towards it with
unreasoned optimism.
Six hours later we were taking off our skis and the skins attached
to them, to climb the final steep summit pyramid of what the lone
Kurdish family living in its shadow had called Yavkaz Kayuz (the
Impossible Peak).
The achievement had been made doubly satisfying because of our firm
belief we would never get to the mountain at all in the time available,
let alone manage to climb the precipitous rocks to the top.
In the gathering dusk we had a sensational ski down into the main
valley. Six and a half hours to the summit. Less than twenty minutes
down.
On the way back we visited our Kurdish friends in their snug
underground farmhouse for tea, before heading back to meet our
companions in Erzerum.
The next day, the day of the avalanche, all fourteen members of the
expedition, led by the Scottish ski mountaineer David Hamilton, were
back among the peaks of Palandoken continuing the programme to get
fit for our main objective, the ascent of Mt Ararat, a giant volcano
close to the Iranian and Armenian borders.
For much of the last 35 years it has been out of bounds due to a
series of wars in the area and the claim by the Armenians that it
belonged to them and not to Turkey.
As we set off the wind was, if anything, stronger than the evening
before, constantly blowing us over on our skis. It was surprisingly
warm with worrying patches of orange in the snow, sand blown by the
hot wind all the way from the Sahara. We could see the occasional
tell-tale sloughs of snow on slopes of 30 degrees and above. Perfect
avalanche conditions.
Just before we got to the bridge close to our Kurdish friends’
farmhouse, some of us wondered aloud whether any sane ski mountaineer
would be out in such conditions. Looking back, the weather was so
wild and so warm that we should have all stayed at home. But we were
here on the trip of a lifetime, trying to cram in as much adventure
as possible and we were all so keen to get ready for the big mountain.
Now Alasdair was dead.
At 59, unmarried and with no children, he was a fanatical
skier who loved indulging his passion in the wilder parts of the
world. Unfortunately, when we got him out he had stopped breathing
and all attempts to resuscitate him failed.
By the time darkness fell and Alasdair was on his way to the mortuary
in Erzerum the wind on the mountain was gusting over 100mph, ripping
the roofs off several local buildings in one of the worst storms of
the winter.
Those of us closely involved in the rescue then made a lengthy report
to the nearby army post and it was only when showing his passport
to a friendly intelligence officer that David Hamilton realised that
the greatest tragedy ever to take place on an expedition run by him
had occurred on his own birthday.
That evening we all gathered in our hotel to decide whether to abandon
the expedition altogether or whether to continue. It was the stoic
and, perhaps wise, ex-soldier Alun Davies, who so narrowly escaped
death himself, who carried the day.
“After I was buried somehow I accepted the inevitability of death. It’s
the second time I have been avalanched in three years. But there was
still a feint hope and by some miracle I was rescued.
“Alasdair was not so lucky. But he lived for the mountains. It’s a risk
we all take. I am a soldier and I have seen death. There is nothing
to be gained by being maudlin, giving up and going home. He would not
have wanted that. Let’s all go and get drunk and tell stories about
him. Tomorrow we continue!”
The next day half of the expedition members decided their heart was
no longer in it and made arrangements to return home immediately. The
others, including myself, decided to carry on.
Everyone’s reasons for staying or going were very personal and not
easy to define.
As president of the Alpine ski club Rupert Hoare decided he had to
attend Alasdair’s funeral. Others felt there would be no joy left in
the struggle against the elements when a friend had died. Some had
felt they had to talk to Alasdair’s relations to try and ease their
grief. Some simply felt fear in the patently dangerous conditions in
the Turkish mountains.
All I can say is I would not want anyone to stop an expedition for me
and would much prefer my companions to drink large amounts of local
spirits and tell stories of my most outrageous or defining moments.
Two weeks later four of the six who continued made it to the top of
Mt Ararat after a storm had cast a blanket of snow over the great
dormant volcano, though nobody was able to ski the final 1,000metres.
No-one pretended it had been a successful expedition.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri leader vows more funding for army in exclave
ANS TV, Baku
14 May 04
[Presenter] Within the framework of his visit to Naxcivan, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev today attended a ceremony to mark the 80th
anniversary of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic. We are over to
Naxcivan now. ANS’s special correspondent Qanira Pasayeva is on the
line. Hello, Qanira.
[Correspondent on the phone] Hello, Qanira.
[Presenter] What issues did the president touch on in his speech?
[Correspondent] First, the chairman of the Supreme Majlis [parliament]
of the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic, Vasif Talibov, delivered a
speech. I want to note that this ceremony was attended mainly by the
ambassadors and charges d’affaires of different foreign countries to
Azerbaijan and representatives of international organizations. Talibov
concentrated on Naxcivan’s history and cited as an example the facts
that the Armenians have been trying to distort history and present
this land [Naxcivan] as their own.
[Passage omitted: Ilham Aliyev spoke about Naxcivan’s history]
In his speech, Ilham Aliyev said that Naxcivan was a blockaded
autonomous republic and drew international organizations’ attention
to this issue. He went on to say that the main focus of attention in
Naxcivan would be the build-up of the army and the acceleration of
social and economic progress.
[Passage omitted: New enterprises to open in Naxcivan; other minor
details]
The president touched on the Karabakh conflict again and ruled out any
agreement if Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is not maintained,
the occupied lands are not liberated and the refugees do not return
to their land. He said that the recent stance of international
organizations had encouraged his hope that the problem can be resolved
peacefully. However, he stressed that the build-up of the army would
continue to develop and more funds would be allocated to the army as
the economy is developing and incomes are increasing.
[Passage omitted: Transport and industrial complexes to be developed
in Naxcivan]

US CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA TO TACKLE CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 13, 2004
National Security Adviser to the US President Condoleezza Rice
was quoted as saying on Thursday that the United States would like
the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia to seriously tackle the
Upper Garabagh conflict. She said the “long-protracted” conflict is
negatively affecting both Azerbaijan and Armenia in terms of economic
and political development.
Shortly before her visit to Russia, Rice said she intends to discuss
with official Moscow prospects for the conflict settlement. “We
are working closely with Russia to resolve a number of conflict
situations. I think we all were somewhat disappointed with the fact
that this has not been done in Upper Garabagh”, she said.

Azeri Speaker, US military discuss OSCE Minsk Group activities so far
ANS TV, Baku
13 May 04
[Presenter] The hitherto activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, which
has accepted the mediating mission on the solution to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict, will be inspected. Inspectors from the USA have
already arrived in Baku.
[Correspondent, over video of the meeting between the US inspectors
and Azeri delegation] Representatives of the US National War College
said they had arrived in Baku to inspect the activities of the OSCE
Minsk Group which accepted the mediating mission on the resolution
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. Commander in the US Navy Forces,
Vincent McBeth, wanted Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov to answer
this question.
[Macbett, speaking in English with Azeri voice-over] We want to
learn. A few years have elapsed. What has the OSCE Minsk Group done
for the resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and what impact
has it had?
[Correspondent, over video] Here is Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz
Alasgarov’s response.
[Alasgarov] No progress is being noticed in the OSCE Minsk Group’s
activities. The Minsk Group was appointed to tackle the problem in
view of its essence and in line with internaltional legal norms. Why
was the Minsk Group organized if it stands on the sidelines in the
process and lays the blame on both sides?
[Correspondent] Alasgarov urged Washington to apply sanctions against
Armenia the aggressor and sent a message to international organizations
calling on them to abandon double standards. He addressed another
request to US President George Bush.
[Alasgarov] I am convinced that the US leadership, including incumbent
President Bush will once again review the situation and take a humane
step towards the full suspension of Section 907 [ to the Freedom
Support Act banning direct US government assistance to Azerbaijan]
[Correspondent] The military men, who came from the USA, promised to
deliver this request to the Bush administration.
Afat Telmanqizi, Azar Qarayev, ANS.