MOSCOW: KARABAKH PROCESS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE COORDINATED IN SHORTEST TERMS
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 17:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair state Russia is
actively assisting in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
but is against imposing recipes for conflict settlement on the sides,
Russian Deputy FM Grigory Karasin said. “We stand against imposing of
any recipes from outside. The responsibility for the final decision
should lie on Armenians and Azeris,” Karasin said in an interview
published in Region+ Azeri magazine. In Karasin’s words, Russia will
support a variant that will prove admissible for the conflicting
parties.
“In our opinion, the decision should bring back stability and peace to
the Transcaucasus. It will help to maintain the geopolitical balance
of forces and avoid transformation of the region into a field for
international political and military rivalry,” the Russian diplomat
said. Karasin also added that during the recent year Armenia and
Azerbaijan advanced on the way to the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict.
At the same time he remarked that “the issues remaining on the
agenda are as complicated as the conflict itself and it’s time to
proceed from talks to decisions and demonstration of political will
in order to coordinate the fundamental principles and open the way
for long-lasting peace.”

TERMS OF BRYZA’S VISIT TO KARABAKH CONFLICT REGION NOT FIXED YET
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 17:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The terms of the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group
U.S. Co-chair Matthew J. Bryza to the region of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict have not been determined yet, Jonathan Henick, Public Affairs
Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baku said when commenting on Bryza’s
possible visit to the region late July. At the same time Mr Henick
informed that Matthew J. Bryza is expected to take part in the events
dedicated to the launch of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline scheduled
for July 12-13 in Istanbul and Adana. To note, according to diplomatic
sources, Bryza will pay a visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold
meetings with the leadership of both states, reported Trend.

MUHLIS PHARAUN: ARMENIA AND SYRIA HAVE MUCH IN COMMON
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 17:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran
Torosian received acting Syrian Charge d ‘Affairs in Armenia Muhlis
Pharaun, reported the RA NA press office. During the meeting Tigran
Torosian remarked that the Armenian-Syrian relations should develop and
strengthen. “Syria performs a special mission in the Near East. Many
Armenians were hosted by this country after the Genocide in 1915,”
he said.
When touching upon the issue of dual citizenship Tigran Torosian said,
“Rights and obligations should be precisely determined. Armenians,
who obtained citizenship after Armenia became independent, and who
experienced the troubles of transition period, should not be offered
the same conditions as the Diasporan Armenians. The political destiny
of Armenia should be decided by the people who permanently live in
this country and contribute to its progress.”
Agreeing with the RA NA Chairman’s opinion Mr Pharaum remarked that
Armenia and Syria have much in common.
“Some 4-5 million of Syrians live abroad, but neither they not their
heirs can enjoy equal rights with the Syrians permanently residing
in Syria,” he said. The interlocutors also referred to some matters
of mutual interest.

GAREGIN II: TERRORISM ACQUIRES NEW COLORING BY INVADING INTO CULTURAL LIFE
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 17:47 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today terrorism acquires new coloring by invading
into the cultural life. We have frequently witnessed outrage of
religious feelings of people recently, Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II stated at the World Summit of Religious Leaders in
Moscow. In his words, efforts must be targeted at maintenance of
morals of people and free expression of will. Serious steps should
be taken to prevent cultural and spiritual vandalism and genocide.
“Religious leaders should not be indifferent to the experiments for
demoralization of the public,” the head of the Armenian Apostolic
Church said.
Garegin II called on the summit participants to join efforts to
prevent the development of modern technologies, politics and economy
from serving to violence, spreading of weapons, xenophobia, moral
degradation and other vices, reported RIA Novosti.

ARMENIA’S PROGRESS BOUND WITH APPLIANCE OF CONSTITUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 18:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian congratulated
the citizens of the republic on the Day of Constitution, reported the
RA leader’s press office. The congratulatory address says in part,
“Dear compatriots, I congratulate you on the Day of Constitution. The
Organic Law of our state is the choice of our people and expression
of their aims. It is especially important for the construction of
democratic, social and legal state. Our progress is immediately bound
with the appliance of the Constitution.
In 2005 serious amendments were introduced into the RA
Constitution. They open new prospects for multilateral development of
our state and people, ensure balanced activities of the power branches
and strengthen the system of human rights protection. I am convinced
that the Armenian Constitution will serve to our future generations
for a long time.”

PRIME MINISTER CONGRATULATED RA CITIZENS ON DAY OF CONSTITUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 18:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Constitution has invaluable historical importance
for any state and nation, says the congratulatory message of Armenian
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan issued over the Day of Constitution
celebrated July 5. “The Organic Law helped to realize the fundamental
principles of independent Armenia and was the guarantor of its
progress. In the hardest times the Constitution was the basis of
sustainable development and independence of the Armenian state,”
the message says, reported the RA government’s press office.

RA FOREIGN MINITSER: WE HOPE AZERBAIJAN WILL RE-ESTIMATE THE SITUATION AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY CONTINUE THE NEGOTIATIONS
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
05/07/2006
“Armenia has properly represented its position, according to which
the principles in the agenda of the negotiations are acceptable for
Armenia and we are ready to continue the negotiations based on the
above-mentioned principles,” Vartan Oskanian, RA Foreign Minister,
said this at today’s press conference.
He stated that the Armenian side believes the principles suggested
by the OSCE MG co-chairs are rather balanced. Oskanian said that
they have made a correct choice of mutual concessions. “So we hope
that Azerbaijan will re-estimate the situation and we will be able
to continue the negotiations for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement,” he added. In response to the question about the
probable pressure on the sides in conflict to make them agree with
the principles suggested by the co-chairs, Oskanian said that this
may happen, only if the positions of the sides are very close to each
other and there is only one small unsettled issue. “In this case we
may expect that the international community will be more resolute to
achieve the settlement of the issue. I don’t know whether we are in
a similar position or not. A year ago our positions differed by 180
degrees, in a year they definitely came close to each other, but now
it’s hard for me to say that the differences in the positions are so
small that by means of the pressure from the international community
on one of the sides or on both of them, we will be able to reach the
settlement,” he underscored.

NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS CALL FOR ARMENIAN AND AZERI PRESIDENTS TO EXPRESS POLITICAL WILL
AZG Armenian Daily
05/07/2006
Taking into account recent speculation about the basic principles
for a peaceful settlement of the NK conflict proposed to both parties
by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, it is necessary to make the following
clarification.On June 22 the Minsk Group Co-Chairs reported to the OSCE
Permanent Council on the results of the past months of negotiations
between the sides on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.They reported on
their intensive mediation activities over the past seven months aimed
at achieving agreement on the basic principles for a settlement. These
included three visits of the Co-Chairs to Baku and Yerevan, three
times together and several more times separately, two meetings of
the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and two
summits between Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev, first in Rambouillet
in February and then in Bucharest in early June.
In addition, a joint Mission of Representatives of the Co-Chair
countries at the Deputy Foreign Minister level traveled to the region
in May. Throughout their mediation efforts, the Co-Chairs stressed, as
always, the belief of their nations and of the international community
that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved in no other way than
a peaceful one. They also stressed the need for the leaders of Armenia
and Azerbaijan to prepare their publics for peace and not for war.
The mediation efforts of the Co-Chairs resulted in the proposal
to Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian of a set of fair, balanced, and
workable core principles that could pave the way for the two sides to
draft a far-reaching settlement agreement. The principles are based
on the redeployment of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories
around Nagorno- Karabakh, with special modalities for Kelbajar and
Lachin districts (including a corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-
Karabakh), demilitarization of those territories, and a referendum or
population vote at a date and in a manner to be decided through further
negotations to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Deployment of an international peacekeeping force and a joint
commission for implementation of the agreement would be established,
and international assistance would be made available for demining,
reconstruction, and resettlement of internally displaced persons in
the formerly occupied territories and the war-affected regions of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Certain interim arrangements for Nagorno-Karabakh
would allow for interaction with providers of international assistance.
The sides would renounce the use or threat of use of force, and
international and bilateral security guarantees and assurances would
be put in place.
Regarding the vote to determine the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh,
the Co-Chairs stressed that suitable pre-conditions for such a vote
would have to be achieved so that the vote would take place in a
non-coercive environment in which well-informed citizens have had
ample opportunity to consider their positions after a vigorous debate
in the public arena.
Unfortunately, at their most recent meeting in Bucharest the Presidents
did not reach agreement on these principles. The Co-Chairs continue
to believe that the proposals developed through the past two years of
negotiations hold the best potential for achieving a just and lasting
settlement of the conflict.
They strongly believe that it is now time for the two Presidents to
take the initiative for achieving a breakthrough in the settlement
process based on these principles, and they stand ready to assist the
parties to conclude an agreement if the Presidents indicate they are
prepared to do so. Although no additional meetings between the sides
under the auspices of the Co-Chairs are planned for the immediate
future, they will be ready to reengage if the parties decide to pursue
the talks with the political will that has thus far been lacking.

STRUGGLE XENOPHOBIA VARTAN OSKANIAN: RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES SHOULD TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES TO AVERT XENOPHOBIA IN RUSSIA
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
05/07/2006
The Armenian side will continue discussion with RF representatives on
the issues of investigating the recent cases of attacking the Armenian
residents of Moscow and punishing the guilty. Vartan Oskanian, RA
Foreign Minister, said at today’s press conference. He stated that
this issue is still in the agenda of the meetings held by the Armenian
and Russian representatives at various levels. “The Russian side is
also concerned about the facts of attacking the foreign citizens in
Moscow,” he said. He added that xenophobia is of total character in
Russia. “The Russian authorities should take drastic measures to
avert xenophobia cases, otherwise that may become a threat to the
publicity of very Russia, Vartan Oskanian said.
It’s worth mentioning that on July 2 evening, a group of teens attacked
two Armenians in a undergound train.
Both the Armenians, Vacheh Tovmasyan (20) and Varazdat Hakobyan (23)
got knife wounds. At the underground station “Kuznetsky Most” they
applied for first aid and were hospitalized. The attackers escaped. The
injured say they were attacked by aggressive young people in black
and armed with knives as soon as they came out of the train.

MOSCOW CITY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE BELIEVES ATTACK AGAINST ARMENIANS STIRS UP NATIONAL HATRED
AZG Armenian Daily
05/07/2006
The Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office stated that the attack against
the Armenians in the Moscow underground station is a case of “stirring
up national hatred and hostility.”
The Russian mass media sources informed that the Moscow City
Prosecutor’s Office ordered the Prosecutor’s Office of the
Moscow Underground to qualify the case. “At present, the Moscow
City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the Prosecutor’s Office of the
Moscow Underground to accept the case and qualify that as a case of
hooliganism according to article # 282 of RF Criminal Code,” Sergey
Marchenko, representative of the Moscow City Prosecutor’s Office,
said this.
The Russian mass media sources informed that that the police has
already detained one of the teens who attacked two Armenians. That
is 27 years old resident of Lipetsk.
It’s worth mentioning that On 2 July in the evening, a group of teens
attacked two Armenians in an underground train. Both the Armenians,
Vacheh Tovmasyan (20) and Varazdat Hakobyan (23) got knife wounds. At
the underground station “Kuznetsky Most” they applied for first aid
and were taken to the hospital. The attackers escaped. The injured
say they were attacked by aggressive young people in black and armed
with knives as soon as they came out of the train.
It’s worth mentioning that Rashid Nurgaliyev, RF Interior Minister,
said at a press conference in Yerevan, that 4 Armenians have been
killed in Russia since the beginning of the year.
Another citizen of Kazakhstan, student of Military-Engineering Academy
of the Russian Defense Ministry, Amantay Yerbozov, and two citizens
of Uzbekistan, were attacked and taken to hospital with wounds. The
attackers escaped this time as well. The Russian Police do not rule
out that the attacks are a result of xenophobia.