CONCERN AS MOSCOW SEES RISE IN RACE-HATE CRIMES
Anton Troianovski
national.cfm?id=972892006
Last updated: 04-Jul-06 01:33 BST
RUSSIAN prosecutors said yesterday they considered the stabbing of
five victims from ethnic minorities a hate crime, following a spate
of attacks on dark-skinned people in Moscow this weekend.
Four Armenians and an Azerbaijani were attacked by about 15 assailants
at a subway station on Saturday. Russia has seen a wave of xenophobia
and hate crimes in recent years, with hundreds of attacks reported,
including many on immigrants from the former Soviet Central Asia and
the Caucasus Mountains region.
Rights activists say hate groups are emboldened by a “mild” approach
to prosecutions, and that neo-Nazi and extremist literature is
sold freely.
Vardan Oskanian, the Armenian foreign minister, denounced the attack,
and called on Russia to do more to head off the rise in violent
xenophobia.
Alexander Brod, who heads the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, said that
the surge in attacks might be tied to two high-profile conferences
that opened in the capital on Monday before a G8 summit that begins
next week in St Petersburg, as extremists sought publicity.

RUSSIAN EMBASSY: NATIONAL INTOLERANCE IN RUSSIA NOT TARGETED AT ARMENIANS ONLY
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.07.2006 17:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Employees of the Russian Embassy in Armenia met with
the members of the Armenian delegation who took part in the Forum of
Creative and Scientific Intelligentsia of the CIS member states held in
Moscow April 14-15, 2006. As reported by the Embassy’s press office,
the Russian officials are convinced that xenophobia is peculiar not
to Russian only. The Russian Embassy in Armenia expressed regret
over the cases of violence against the Russian citizens of Armenian
origin. “Unfortunately xenophobia is an evil that finds expression
in the public life of multi-national states with developed democratic
and social institutes. Thus, the statements on purposeful violation of
rights through national intolerance against Armenians are groundless,”
the statement of the Russian Embassy says in part.

BAKU: ARMENIA’S ROLE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS WILL BE SIMILAR TO ROLE OF ISRAEL IN NEAR EAST
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.07.2006 17:47 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Pretending to defend Azerbaijan’s national interests
and contrary to the assurances they give the Azerbaijani authorities
will have to accept Armenians’ demand,” political scientist Zardusht
Alizade stated. In his words, the Armenian side is not going to return
all of the seven regions. “The only thing Azerbaijan can receive is
the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the five regions which
make the security belt,” he said.
The Azeri political scientist underscored that peacekeeping forces
will be deployed in Nagorno Karabakh and to all appearance these will
be NATO forces. “They will ensure security of the Armenian population
first of all. As for Russia’s position, it remains unchangeable. Russia
tries to protract the settlement of the conflict,” Alizade said.
He is convinced that the U.S. intends to gain Armenia’s support and
make it main ally in the region.
“I suppose Armenia’s role in the region will be similar to the role of
Israel in the Near East. Lachin and Kebaljar are most likely to remain
under Armenia’s control,” he said, reported Real Azerbaijan newspaper.

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ __________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 10, No. 121, Part I, 3 July 2006
NOTE TO READERS: “RFE/RL Newsline” will next be issued on July 7.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx
Headlines, Part I
* ST. PETERSBURG GOVERNOR URGES THIRD PUTIN TERM IN INTERESTS OF
‘STABILIZATION’
* FORMER RUSSIAN PREMIER CONFIRMS HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008
* SOUTH OSSETIA ACCUSES GEORGIA OF PREPARING FOR WAR
END NOTE: MEDIA COVERAGE OF TURKMEN LEADER DISTRACTS ATTENTION FROM
REAL PROBLEMS
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
ARRESTED ARMENIAN JOURNALIST ALLEGES POLITICAL PERSECUTION. Arman
Babadjanian, editor of the independent daily “Zhamanak Yerevan,”
released a statement on June 30 claiming that his arrest four days
earlier on charges of evading military service in 2002 was
politically motivated, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported (see
“RFE/RL Newsline,” June 27 and 28, 2006). Babadjanian said his
detention was intended “to muzzle an independent and incorruptible
media outlet that supports the removal of an illegal regime and the
establishment of a legitimate government.” Prosecutors said last week
that Babadjanian, who has been remanded in pre-trial custody for two
months, has confessed to the charge against him. Babadjanian’s
statement made no mention of any such confession. LF
MAJOR KAZAKH BANK CLOSES OFFICE IN AZERBAIJAN. TuranAlem Bank, which
is one of Kazakhstan’s three largest banks and the seventh largest in
the CIS, has closed the office in Baku that it opened in August 2005,
regnum.ru and day.az reported on July 1 and 2, respectively. Although
the office was registered with the Justice Ministry, the National
Bank of Azerbaijan refused to grant it a license. TuranAlem hoped to
acquire a controlling stake in an unnamed Azerbaijani bank. It has
since made considerable investments in Georgia. LF
GEORGIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES CALL FOR AMENDMENTS TO ELECTION LAW.
Seven Georgian opposition parties and movements — the New Rightists,
the Republican party, Tavisupleba (Liberty), the Conservative party,
the Labor party, Industry Will Save Georgia, and the People’s Forum
— signed a statement in Tbilisi on June 30 demanding that the
election law be amended to provide for elections to the Tbilisi
Municipal Council to be held according to the proportional system,
Caucasus Press and regnum.ru reported. The council has 37 seats, of
which 30 currently go to whichever party polls the largest number of
votes (a minimum of 30 percent). Parliamentarian Giga Bokeria of the
ruling United National Movement rejected that demand on June 30 as
“blackmail” that “will lead nowhere,” Caucasus Press reported. LF
SOUTH OSSETIA ACCUSES GEORGIA OF PREPARING FOR WAR. Georgian Defense
Minister Irakli Okruashvili told the independent television station
Rustavi-2 on July 2 that the Georgian parliament should demand the
withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping troops currently deployed in
the South Ossetian and Abkhaz conflict zones, Interfax and regnum.ru
reported on July 3. “We must reunite the country, and I don’t care”
that “skeptics” in Europe are concerned that a demand for the
peacekeepers’ withdrawal may negatively affect Georgian-Russian
relations, Okruashvili was quoted as saying. Also on July 3, Mikhail
Mindzayev, interior minister of the unrecognized Republic of South
Ossetia, accused Georgia of preparing to launch a military offensive
against South Ossetia immediately after the G8 summit in St.
Petersburg, Caucasus Press reported. On July 1, the Georgian Defense
Ministry accused South Ossetia of “illegally” constructing
fortifications during the third week in June; Mindzayev was quoted on
July 3 by regnum.ru as saying that those fortifications were
undertaken in direct response to Georgia’s actions. Meanwhile, South
Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity told residents of Djava Raion on
July 1 that he will not instigate a referendum with the aim of
amending the constitution to enable him to run for a further term
after his second presidential term expires later this year, regnum.ru
reported. LF
ABKHAZ-GEORGIAN WORKING GROUP MEETS. The UN-sponsored Coordinating
Council working group on security issues convened on June 30 in Gali
for its first session in five years, Caucasus Press and apsny.ru
reported. Participants focused on the security situation in
Abkhazia’s southernmost Gali Raion and in the Kodori Gorge. Ivo
Petrov, who is deputy special representative of the UN
Secretary-General for the Abkhaz conflict, stressed the need for both
sides to observe the cease-fire agreement signed in Moscow in May
1994 and to draft and submit to the Coordinating Council proposals
for averting a resumption of hostilities. LF
ABKHAZ OPPOSITION LAMBASTES LEADERSHIP OVER RAIL-TRAFFIC AGREEMENT.
Representatives of various Abkhaz political parties and movements,
including the opposition Forum of National Unity established last
year (see “RFE/RL Caucasus Report,” February 11, 2005) issued two
statements last week criticizing the Abkhaz authorities for endorsing
an agreement concluded among the governments of Russia, Armenia ,and
Georgia to establish a consortium to renovate the railway line from
Sochi via Abkhazia to Tbilisi and thence to Armenia, apsny.ru
reported on June 30. That agreement reportedly designates the stretch
of railway through Abkhazia as the property of the consortium, a
concession that the signatories branded contrary to Abkhaz national
interests and a threat to the unrecognized republic’s sovereignty.
Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh brushed off that criticism during
comments to journalists on June 29, saying it testifies to the fact
that “we are building a democratic law-based state where anyone can
express his opinion,” apsny.ru reported. Bagapsh argued that the
renovation of the rail link and the resumption of rail traffic is
“strategically vital” to Russia and essential for reviving Abkhazia’s
economy. He pledged that the Abkhaz leadership will “defend its
position” vis-a-vis the Russian-Georgian-Armenian consortium. LF
DEFENDANT IN KAZAKH MURDER TRIAL REQUESTS PROTECTION. In an appeal
published on June 30 by ferghana.ru and Navigator, Rustam Ibragimov,
a defendant charged with the murder of opposition leader Altynbek
Sarsenbaev, asked Judge Lukmat Merekenov to take measures to protect
him and his family. Ibragimov said that Erzhan Utembaev, who is
charged with paying for Sarsenbaev’s killing, told him on February 15
that a high-ranking official met with Sarsenbaev on February 11, the
day the authorities have said the murder was committed. Ibragimov
also stated in the appeal that the official’s picture was shown to
him by FBI agents and the official’s name was mentioned to him by the
Interior Ministry and prosecutor-general. Ibragimov did not identify
the official, but said that now that he has made it clear in his
testimony that he knows the official’s identity, he believes that “I,
my relatives, and my lawyers are threatened by a real risk — up to
physical liquidation.” A former law enforcement officer, Ibragimov
has pled innocent to the murder charge. DK
KYRGYZ OFFICIAL SAYS REMITTANCES AT $750 MILLION IN 2005. Lyubov Ten,
head of the macroeconomic policy department in Kyrgyzstan’s Economy
and Finance Ministry, told akipress.org in an interview on June 29
that remittances from migrant workers totaled an estimated $750
million in 2005. Ten said that the International Organization for
Migration puts the number of Kyrgyz migrant workers in Russia at
300,000-500,000 and in Kazakhstan at 50,000. Ten noted that the
Bishkek Consensus Institute for Economic Policy (IEP) estimates the
total number of Kyrgyz migrant workers at 400,000, including 50,000
outside the CIS. The IEP put annual remittance averages of individual
migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan in 2004-05 at $1,165 (Russia), $1,361
(Kazakhstan), and $2,050 (other countries). DK
KYRGYZ PROSECUTORS ASK FOR DEATH PENALTY IN PRISON MURDER CASE.
Kyrgyz prosecutors have asked for the death penalty in the trial of
Aziz Batukaev and Rustam Abdulin, who are being tried in connection
with the murders of four people, including parliamentary deputy
Tynychbek Akmatbaev, during prison unrest on October 20, 2005 (see
“RFE/RL Newsline,” October 21, 2005), akipress.org reported.
Batukaev, Abdulin, and 37 other defendants are on trial in the
killings, which triggered a series of demonstrations in Bishkek last
October (see “Restive Days In Bishkek,” rferl.org, October 30, 2005).
DK
KYRGYZ PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES PAY RISE FOR EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE
WORKERS. Kurmanbek Bakiev announced on July 1 that he will sign a
decree raising the salaries of teachers, doctors, and social-sector
workers by 20 percent, Kabar reported. Bakiev noted that salaries for
these workers increased by 15 percent last year, news agency 24.kg
reported. The raises will be effective July 1. DK
TURKMEN, UKRAINIAN GAS TALKS END WITHOUT AGREEMENT… Talks between a
Ukrainian delegation headed by acting Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan
Plachkov and Turkmenistan’s Oil and Gas Ministry ended on June 30 in
Ashgabat without an agreement on gas shipments for the second half of
2006, turkmenistan.ru reported. The two sides did reach an agreement
on Ukrainian arrears of $64 million for previous shipments, which the
Ukrainian side said it will pay by September. Turkmenistan offered to
sell gas to Ukraine for $100 per 1,000 cubic meters in the fourth
quarter of 2006 if Ukraine can arrange transport of the gas through
Russia, an offer the Ukrainian delegation did not accept. DK
….AND ASHGABAT CONSIDERS PREVIOUS AGREEMENT INVALID. The report
noted that Turkmenistan considers a late 2005 Turkmen-Ukrainian
contract on 2006 shipments “invalid” after Russia’s Gazprom declined
to provide a transit license for the gas. Shipments under a different
arrangement brokered with Gazprom on January 4 will be completed by
September, the Turkmen side said. Under the current agreement,
Ukraine pays $95 per 1,000 meters to Rosukrenergo, a Swiss-registered
gas trader that sells Ukraine a mixture of Russian and Central Asian
gas. The Ukrainian delegation has returned to Kyiv for consultations.
The failure to reach agreement came a day after Russia’s Gazprom and
Turkmenistan broke off talks on a gas deal for the remainder of 2006
after failing to reach an agreement on price (see “RFE/RL Newsline,”
June 30, 2006). DK
DUTCH NGO FACES CHARGES IN UZBEKISTAN. Uzbekistan’s Justice Ministry
has found the Dutch NGO AIDS Foundation East-West in violation of
Uzbek law, Interfax reported on June 30. The report said that the NGO
is “expected” to resolve the violations, but it noted that the
Justice Ministry would not say whether the organization could be
closed. Over the past two years, Uzbek authorities have shut down
most of the Western NGOs in Uzbekistan. DK
END NOTE
MEDIA COVERAGE OF TURKMEN LEADER DISTRACTS ATTENTION FROM REAL
PROBLEMS
By Gulnoza Saidazimova
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has been called
outlandish, eccentric, insane, ruthless, and described as a
tyrannical dictator. But the international media’s comic portrayals
of Niyazov distract attention from many of the very serious problems
the country is facing, observers say.
Turkmen citizens have no chance to enjoy ballet, opera, a
philharmonic orchestra, or a circus because Niyazov — also known as
Turkmenbashi the Great or the “Father of All Turkmen” — has banned
them, saying they contradict Turkmen national values.
Niyazov has also ordered the dismissal of several thousand
health-care workers and replaced them with military conscripts, while
also closing down many rural hospitals. Turkmen children only go to
school until the ninth grade ever since the government reduced public
education — making it impossible for them to study at foreign
universities
Only adherents to Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodoxy are free
to worship in Turkmenistan, as those who follow any other religion or
religious sect usually face harsh repression, with some churches
having been bulldozed. And Turkmens are constantly forced to better
their knowledge of the nation’s history and present by learning
phrases from “Rukhnama,” Niyazov’s book on spirituality and proper
behavior, which is compulsory study in schools.
Many Turkmen citizens live in poverty since Niyazov cancelled
or cut payments to a large portion of the country’s pensioners and
cancelled maternity and sick-leave payments for others in February.
If Turkmens criticize the government or work for foreign
media outlets, they are likely to be persecuted and can be internally
exiled, evicted from their homes, or forcibly put in psychiatric
hospitals while their personal property is confiscated.
This is the dire but realistic picture of Turkmenistan,
according to exiled Turkmen dissidents and international human rights
groups. Many of them say the Western media, however, does not give an
adequate picture of the country because they are too busy reporting
about Niyazov’s cult of personality or his strange behavior and
comments, such as his criticism of gold-capped teeth, long hair and
beards, and female TV anchors’ use of make-up — or his decision to
ban the use of tobacco.
But focusing on such things creates a distorted picture of
life in Turkmenistan and takes attention away from the truly
difficult issues that Turkmens are facing, says Eric Freedman of the
journalism school at Michigan State University. “It’s obvious that he
does a lot of strange things. Some of them [are] building an ice
palace in the desert, renaming the days of the weeks and the months
of the year, building the world’s largest mosque [or] his putting up
giant posters [of himself] all over the country,” Freedman says.
“Those kinds of things draw attention to him as a person and
they obviously have a public-policy implication,” Freedman continues.
“But the press doesn’t tend to look at those kinds of public-policy
issues. It’s easier to put attention on things that are a little
strange. There are some problems with that, I think, because you as a
reader in the West get a distorted picture.”
Farid Tukhbatullin, an exiled human rights activist and head
of the Vienna-based nongovernmental group Turkmen Initiative for
Human Rights, says that the media portrays Niyazov as a “clown
dictator” and his decrees as whims and eccentricity. He says foreign
media seem to forget that nearly 5 million people have to live a
“tragic life” under Niyazov’s rule.
Tukhbatullin believes it is because ordinary people in the
West are not interested in finding out more about Turkmenistan,
noting that since he arrived in Europe, “I learned that people know
practically nothing — not only about Turkmenistan — but also about
other former Soviet republics.
“Unfortunately, the foreign press only portrays Turkmenistan
as a country with a president who has a screw loose,” he adds.
“Journalists and perhaps their readers are not interested in having
an in-depth knowledge about Turkmenistan. They are probably satisfied
with reading about [Niyazov’s] odd remarks and behavior over coffee,
at their leisure.”
Michigan University’s Freedman recently conducted research on
several Western media outlets’ coverage of Turkmenistan, and noted
that personality-driven media coverage of other leaders is very rare.
“If the situation were reversed and it were foreign media covering
events in the U.S. when Bill Clinton was president, it would be as if
most stories about U.S. trade or military included references that
Bill Clinton was not faithful to his wife, or had smoked
marijuana…or had this ‘Slick Willie’ kind of image,” he says. “And
if you put it that way, you realize how ridiculous it would be for
the foreign press to do that about the United States. So why wouldn’t
it be equally ridiculous for the Western press to do that about
another country?”
Freedman says Western media coverage becomes more serious
when prominent international groups, like Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch, or the World Health Organization take interest in
certain events in the country.
Allison Gill, head of Human Rights Watch’s Moscow office,
tells RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service that the media should stop making fun
of Turkmenbashi and pay more attention to his regime’s disastrous
human rights record. “There is absolutely not enough attention to the
human rights situation in Turkmenistan,” Gill says. “Many people have
forgotten about Turkmenistan or consider that the president is
somewhat funny in his building of [his own] statues and his creating
a cult of personality to himself. But there is nothing funny about
what is happening in Turkmenistan. It is an incredibly serious and
dire human rights situation that demands the attention of the world
community.”
Freedman, however, says that the odd and the bizarre about
Turkmenbashi are likely to continue dominating media coverage as they
attract a greater audience.
(Gulnoza Saidazimova is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague.)
RUSSIA
ST. PETERSBURG GOVERNOR URGES THIRD PUTIN TERM IN INTERESTS OF
‘STABILIZATION.’ In an interview published on June 30 in “Moskovskiye
novosti,” Valentina Matvienko argued that she considers it of
“fundamental importance” that Vladimir Putin should be permitted to
serve a third term as Russian president after his current term
expires in 2008. Doing so, Matvienko reasoned, would enable Putin to
complete what he has begun and to “make the most important processes
irreversible.” Speaking to journalists on July 1, Matvienko again
said the economic, financial, social, and political changes Putin has
effected “need to be consolidated and made irreversible,” and that a
third Putin term would help preserve stability both within Russia and
abroad, Interfax and regnum.ru reported. She admitted, however, that
it is for Putin himself to decide whether the current constitution
and legislation should be amended to permit one person to serve three
presidential terms. An opinion poll published on June 7 by the Levada
Center in Moscow indicates that 59 percent of respondents would
approve amending the constitution to enable President Putin to run
for a third term (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 8, 2006). Speaking two
weeks ago in Shanghai, however, Putin said he will not run for a
third term, as doing so would require changing the constitution,
which in turn would deprive him of the moral authority to govern (see
“RFE/RL Newsline,” June 16, 2006). LF
FORMER RUSSIAN PREMIER CONFIRMS HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2008.
Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told a congress of his
People’s Democratic Union (NDS) in Moscow on July 1 that he intends
to put forward his candidacy in the 2008 presidential ballot,
Interfax reported. At the same time, he said he does not plan to head
any political party. When the NDS was launched in April, commentators
suggested it was formed specifically to back a Kasyanov presidential
bid (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” February 28, March 16, and April 10,
2006). LF
SPEAKER AGAIN SAYS FEDERATION COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD BE ELECTED…
Echoing comments he made days earlier in Lipetsk, Sergei Mironov told
Interfax on July 1 that he believes members of the upper chamber of
the Russian parliament should be elected rather than centrally
appointed (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 27, 2006). He suggested that
regional governors or presidents and the regional or republican
legislature should nominate two candidates each. Mironov pointed out
that if the relevant legislation is enacted by the end of this year,
such elections could be held concurrently with regional elections in
March 2007. Mironov also recalled that the principles under which
parliamentary elections are held are being reformed and as of 2007,
Duma deputies will be elected only from party lists and not from
single-mandate constituencies (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” May 12, 2005).
Also on July 1, President Putin told journalists in Lesniye Dali,
Moscow Oblast, that he supports the proposal by the pro-Kremlin
Unified Russia party that 20 percent of the candidates on parties’
election lists should be “young people,” Interfax reported. It is not
clear if either Putin or Unified Russia has stipulated an upper age
limit. LF
….CALLS FOR PUBLIC CHAMBER TO OVERSEE MEDIA. Mironov also called in
his July 1 interview with Interfax for greater state control over the
media. At the same time, he argued that a Public Chamber comprised of
“decent and respected people” should be established to ensure that
the media conform to the state’s information policy, as giving that
responsibility to either the State Duma, the Federation Council, or
the Press Ministry would be tantamount to a return to censorship. LF
VOTERS OPPOSE ABOLITION OF ‘AGAINST ALL’ OPTION. According to a poll
of 3,000 respondents conducted on June 17-18 in 63 Russian regions,
54 percent of voters considered it necessary to preserve the option
of being able to vote “against all” candidates in elections, while
only 28 percent favored abolishing it, regnum.ru reported on July 1.
Some 63 percent could not name a single advantage in abolishing that
option, as the State Duma voted to do in the final reading on June 30
(see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 30, 2006). Nearly one-third — 31
percent — of the poll respondents said they have voted “against all”
on at least one occasion. LF
PUTIN ADVISER PREDICTS THAT 1 MILLION RUSSIANS WILL RETURN FROM
ABROAD. Kremlin adviser Modest Kolerov told Interfax on July 1 that
more than 1 million Russians, most of them “professionals” currently
living in unspecified countries that are undergoing “a socioeconomic
crisis,” plan to take advantage of the repatriation program announced
by President Putin on June 26. That program guarantees benefits and
support for persons who agree to settle in border regions in the Far
East. Returnees will also be permitted to settle in regions where the
population is declining rapidly, or where major investment programs
are under way (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 27, 2006). In Primorsky
Krai, the authorities are already allocating land for repatriates to
settle, while in Irkutsk, Governor Aleksandr Tishanin said on June 29
that the oblast is ready to house in 2007 up to 1.5 million ethnic
Russians from former Soviet republics who wish to settle in the
Russian Federation, regnum.ru reported. LF
CHUVASH PRESIDENT WARNS GOVERNMENT TO CURB RISING INFLATION. Nikolai
Fyodorov warned republican Prime Minister Sergei Gaplikov during a
session of the republican government on June 30 that unless the
inflation rate is brought down, he will demand the resignation of the
entire government, regnum.ru reported. Chuvashia has until now
experienced lower-than-average inflation, but experts have predicted
that consumer prices will rise by almost 10 percent this year. LF
RUSSIA, PARIS CLUB SIGN PROTOCOL ON DEBT REPAYMENT. Russian Deputy
Finance Minister Sergei Storchak signed a multilateral protocol on
June 30 with the Paris Club of creditors under which Russia will
repay in full by August 21, 2006, the approximately $22.3 billion it
owes those countries, Interfax reported (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June
26, 2006). Storchak told journalists after the signing that Moscow
hopes that international ratings agencies will upgrade Russia’s
country rating in the wake of that agreement. Speaking on July 1 on
the Russian television program “Vesti-24,” Finance Minister Aleksei
Kudrin said that the early repayment of Russia’s debt to the Paris
Club puts it in a position to lay claim to assets abroad, including
real estate, which other former Soviet republics ceded to Russia in
return for a pledge to repay their share of the former Soviet foreign
debt, Interfax reported. LF
SHAREHOLDERS ENDORSE ARCELOR-MITTAL MERGER. Meeting in Luxembourg on
June 30, shareholders of the steel company Arcelor SA voted to
endorse the merger of Arcelor with Mittal Steel to form the world’s
largest steel company, rather than to go ahead with a previously
agreed merger between Arcelor and the Russian Severstal, the
“Financial Times” reported on July 1 (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 26
and 27, 2006). Arcelor will pay Severstal 140 million euros ($179
million) in compensation for backing out of the previous deal, under
which Severstal would have invested 14 billion euros in assets in the
merged company in exchange for 32 percent of the total shares. On
July 3, “Nezavisimaya gazeta” reported that Severstal’s owner Aleksei
Mordashov plans an initial public offering of 3 billion euros on the
London Stock Exchange in a bid to increase his company’s
capitalization prior to making a takeover bid for either the
U.K.-based Corus Group or another European steel company. LF
GAZPROM WILL TREAT CIS, EUROPE ALIKE. Aleksei Miller, who is CEO of
Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom, told a general
shareholders’ meeting in Moscow on June 30 that Gazprom intends to
abide by the same conditions in its relations with CIS states as with
Europe, presumably meaning that CIS countries will be required to pay
the full market price for gas, regnum.ru reported. On July 1, Gazprom
spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov warned that the revision of the January
2006 gas deal between Russia and Ukraine that the new Ukrainian
government under Yuliya Tymoshenko is demanding “endangers the
security and continuity” of Gazprom’s supplies to Europe, Interfax
reported. LF
RUSSIAN, TURKISH PRESIDENTS MEET. Ahmet Necdet Sezer met with
President Putin on June 29, the second day of his three-day official
visit to Russia, according to a June 30 statement on the website of
the Russian Foreign Ministry (). Speaking to
journalists after their talks, the two presidents noted with
satisfaction the boom in bilateral trade over the past 15 years, from
$1.5 billion in 1991 to $15 billion today; Sezer predicted that the
figure could reach $25 billion. Sezer noted in particular the
positive impact on bilateral economic relations of the Blue Stream
pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Turkey. Putin noted the
talks focused on the Middle East, Iraq, the Iranian nuclear standoff,
regional developments in the Black Sea region, and coordinating
efforts in the fight against terrorism. He said that the two
countries’ positions on all international issues discussed either
coincide or “have become much closer.” Writing on July 1 in the
“Turkish Daily News,” columnist Mehmet Ali Birand enthused that
“Turkey’s love for Russia is increasing every day.” But “Novye
izvestiya” on June 29 noted that Russia and Turkey are still in
competition over the transport of Caspian hydrocarbons to world
markets. LF
RUSSIA, ITALY DISCUSS PREPARATIONS FOR G8 SUMMIT. Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Moscow on June 30 with his Italian
counterpart Massimo D’Alema to discuss bilateral relations,
preparations for the G8 summit in St. Petersburg on July 15-17, and
various international issues, according to the Russian Foreign
Ministry website. The two ministers agreed to maintain “close working
contacts” with regard to the agenda for the upcoming summit. They
also agreed that the international community should strictly abide by
accepted principles of international law in order to prevent possible
“destabilizing consequences” of the referendum whereby Montenegro won
independence from its former joint state with Serbia (see “RFE/RL
Newsline,” May 22, 2006), or of the ongoing Kosova status talks.
Other issues discussed included the Middle East, Iraq, and Iran’s
nuclear agenda. D’Alema also met in Moscow on June 30 with Finance
Minister Kudrin to discuss the possibility of Gazprom and Italy’s
state-owned ENI cooperating to extend the Blue Stream pipeline from
Samsun to Ceyhan, Interfax and regnum.ru reported. Kudrin said an
agreement on building that pipeline could be signed “very soon.” LF
CHECHEN ADMINISTRATION HEAD SAYS MURDERERS OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS
SHOULD BE HUNTED DOWN. Russia should not spare either financial or
other resources in its efforts to apprehend and bring to justice
those responsible for the execution of a Russian diplomat and three
embassy employees abducted in Baghdad, pro-Moscow Chechen
administration head Alu Alkhanov told Interfax in Moscow on July 1.
Every terrorist organization should know that Russia will never leave
any hostage-taking or murder of her compatriots without retaliation,
Alkhanov said. The four men were abducted in early June by the
Mujahedin Shura Council, an Iraqi-based group with links to Al-Qaeda.
On June 28, President Putin ordered unspecified Russian “special
services” to take “all measures to find and eliminate” the killers
(see “RFE/RL Newsline,” June 27, 28, and 29, 2006). LF
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BTC TO AFFECT ON PROCESSES ONGOING WORLDWIDE – AZERI PRESIDENT
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline is very important
for the region and will affect on the processes developing worldwide,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in his address to public
in Zardab District of Azerbaijan on 30 June 2006, Trend reports.
The head of state said that over the past 2.5 years around 400,000
new jobs have been created in the country, while Azerbaijan ranks
the top place for growth pace of the GDP.
Aliyve noted that the country’s leadership continued adhering a
constant policy set up by the former President Heydar Aliyev, who
is the author of the national oil strategy. “But we have a number of
tasks to fulfill and we should ensure economic and energy security,”
the President added.
Aliyev reminded that over 4,500 schools function in Azerbaijan, of
which 60-70% are in need of renovation. Last year 300 new schools were
built in the country and this year it is planned to build schools in
the name number.
The head of state participated in opening of the monument and museum
of Heydar Aliyev, a ceremony of commissioning of 32-flat building for
the Karabakh war disabled, as well as opening of a secondary school
and local branch of Bank of Azerbaijan.
The President ended his tour of the central regions of Azerbaijan –
Ujar and Zardab.

WITHDRAWAL OF ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES FROM CONFLICT ZONE WOULD RELAX TENSION IN REGION
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006
The Co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group have led the peaceful dialogue to
a certain stage after which the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia
should make a decision, Mathew Bryza, the USA state secretary advisor
on Europe and Eurasia, co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group, told in his
interview with Radio Liberty, Trend reports.
“My words may urge people to create a condition for healthy debates
in the region,” told Brysa.
“I am surprised not at the debates, but at the issue that several
persons who are not familiar with the recent statement of co-chairs
of Minsk group in Vienna gave a rapid reaction to the meeting. In
the statement of co-chair, everything was stated obviously, but my
statement was shorter and common,” Bryza added.
Bryza answered the question “May your peaceful plan statement be
considered part of the strategy on beginning of debates?” that “May
be yes or may be no. I only gave information on happening events. The
document offered to the Permanent Council of OSCE is open for society.”
“Co-chairs of Minsk Group used all their abilities and energy to
prepare a “framework agreement” where the main principles of settlement
found their reflections. The president need time to make a decision on
the agreement,” stressed Bryza. I’m very energetic and familiar with
the leaders enough. We will continue working with them and don’t state
that the process has been ceased forever. However, we want to note
that the dialogue was held till the definite level, after which the
heads of the conflict countries should themselves take a resolution.
Touching on the contradictory statements on the conducting of
referendum on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, American co-chair noted
that the sides couldn’t come to an agreement on main principles of
the solution. Therefore, both presidents take responsibility that
no agreement was reached up to now. “I cannot say which president
takes greater responsibility. The presidents may declare that an
agreement was reached on the main principles or may announce that
the agreement was made changes and a packet plan will be prepared,”
told new co-chair.
At the same time Bryza noted that he withdrawal of the Armenian armed
forces from the conflict zone, undoubtedly, increase the tension in
the region. “Therefore, the issue is important element of the major
principles of resolution. However, stating to Armenians that withdraw
the arms from the region and it will relax the tension in the region
and we will achieve the desired. The Armenians will go to it, if they
will receive anything in exchange. That is the major principle. The
experts are right -the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces will
relax the tension. But they should receive something in exchange.
Therefore, the heads of state ought to take a difficult resolution.
Bryza noted that the demilitarization of the region will be
accompanied with national voting or referendum on future status of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The problem is linked with coordination of the time parameters for
withdrawal or re-dislocation of Armenian forces with the status of
Karabakh. That’s the major problem complicating the process.
In the end Bryza voiced his hope that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will be included in the agenda of the meeting of G8 in St-Petersburg.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the issue will
be under discussion. “We’d like the issue to be included in the agenda
of the meeting,” the adviser to the US Secretary of State in Europe
and Eurasia, said.

KERKORIAN DRIVES BIG DEALS THAT DRAW BIG CRITICISM
By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press, MI
July 1 2006
Some say his only vision is of more profits for himself
Is he a visionary or a villain?
Kirk Kerkorian’s latest bold move, his attempt to arrange a shotgun
wedding between the Renault-Nissan alliance and General Motors,
has all the earmarks of his controversial career.
Like Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, Kerkorian boldly
goes where no one has gone before. But he also goes where no one
particularly wants him to go.
Peter Morici, a professor of business at the University of Maryland,
says Kerkorian’s unorthodox moves are a distraction that takes
management away from the problems at hand.
“He’s not a Warren Buffett,” Morici said Friday, referring to the
so-called Oracle of Omaha who built a legendary career on patiently
searching for and nurturing good companies. “He’s not a problem
solver. He sees opportunities for value, but he doesn’t leave the
companies better off for his adventures.”
It may be that, unlike Buffett, Kerkorian lacks the patience for
anything but the quick score. If so, he developed the taste for it
early in his career.
The son of Armenian immigrants who ran a produce business in Fresno,
Calif., Kerkorian quit school as a teenager to work. He spent a year in
the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, served as a military
pilot during World War II, and after the war ran a small air-charter
service to ferry gamblers between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Kerkorian paid $60,000 for the charter service in 1947, when he was
30. In 1968, he sold it to Trans-america Corp. for a little more than
$100 million.
“Kirk realized then that everything was in the timing,” a banker
friend, Walter Sharp, said in 1995. “He became fascinated with the
idea of making deals.”
And deals there were. For a man so intensely private, he showed a
remarkable taste for splashy investments, mostly in Las Vegas.
With the proceeds of his airline sale, he acquired the Flamingo
Hotel in 1969, the first of several casino-hotels he would buy,
sell or build in the decades since.
Although nowhere near as reclusive as Howard Hughes, Kerkorian runs
a low-key operation. Angered by a reporter’s questions years ago,
Kerkorian very rarely gives interviews. Shy and unpretentious, he has
been known to stand in line even for movies his own studio produced.
His Las Vegas-based company, Tracinda Corp., is named for two
daughters, Tracy and Linda. His personal life has had a tabloid
flavor: Kerkorian has been married at least three times, including
a 1999 union with tennis pro Lisa Bonder that lasted one month.
It was a meeting with former Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca that sparked
Kerkorian’s interest in Detroit. Meeting the automotive executive at
a Florida racetrack, Kerkorian agreed in 1990 to invest in Chrysler.
Five years later, he mounted a takeover bid when the company didn’t
perform as he’d hoped. That bid ended when Kerkorian couldn’t stitch
together a workable deal.
Later, he supported the deal that saw Daimler-Benz AG merge with
Chrysler in 1998. But pleasure turned to anger when Kerkorian came to
believe the merger was really an ill-disguised takeover that devalued
his shares.
He sued DaimlerChrysler in a bitter and protracted battle that
ultimately he lost.

AZERBAIJANI AND EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES HOLD POLITICAL CONSULTATION
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry held political consultation with Egypt’s
Foreign Ministry at the level of deputy ministers.
APA reports quoting the Ministry’s press center. Azerbaijani deputy
foreign minister Khalaf Khalafov pointed out importance of this
consultation in terms of continuing political dialogue between the
two states. Egyptian deputy foreign minister Fatima al-Zahra said
her country is ready to develop relations with Azerbaijan in all
spheres noting her visit in Baku aims at continuing the political
consultations launched in Cairo, strengthening bilateral relations
and discussing offers for developing the cooperation.
The sides also exchanged views on the prospects of efficient
cooperation between the two countries in the frames of international
organizations, in particular the UN and OIC as well as regional and
international issues of mutual interest. The sides also discussed the
results of the negotiating process between Armenia and Azerbaijan
for the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Garabagh conflict. The
Egyptian visitor was informed in detail about Armenia’s aggressive
policy and unconstructive stance regarding the negotiating process.
The sides stressed the importance of developing relations in economic,
commercial, scientific, cultural, tourism, health, educational and
other spheres and noted it is very significant to strengthen the
law-contract base from this aspect.
The discussions at the meeting also focused on establishing a direct
air relation between Cairo and Egypt, prospects of cooperation in
the frames of TRACECA project, relations with the European Union and
mutual cooperation. They also exchanged views on Baku’s hosting the
next meeting of Egypt-Azerbaijan intergovernmental commission early
in 2007.

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF COE ANSWERED QUESTIONS OF AZERI DEPUTIES
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006
The members of the Azeri delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE) addressed several questions to the
deputy chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Aleksandra Grushko. At each session, the chairman of the Committee
of Ministers presents a report on the works realized within last year.
Because of the absence of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, the
chairman of the Committee of Ministers, at the session due to several
reasons, he was substituted by his deputy Aleksandra Grushko. The
member of Azeri delegation Rafael Huseynov asked a question about the
recognition of Armenia as an aggressor and ethnic cleansing policy
implemented by Armenians against Azerbaijan in the resolution No.
1416 of the Council of Europe.
Other members of Azeri delegation Aydin Mirzazade and Ganira Pashayeva
appealed with a question “as a chairman of the Committee of Ministers,
what steps does Russia take in the regulation of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict”. And Grushko told that Russia is interested in the
settlement of this conflict and makes possible efforts within the
OSCE Minsk Group.
The influence of the Council of Europe on the solution of the conflict
may consist of the acceleration of the talks and use of possible means
for politically regulating the conflict. The main responsibility falls
on the Minsk Group and this organization may play a decisive role.

AZERBAIJAN AND EGYPT DISCUSSED PROSPECTS OF FUTURE COOPERATION
Author: S.Agayeva
TREND, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006
Azerbaijan and Egypt is going to expand the all-round bilateral
cooperation. An agreement was reached on this issue during the
consultation of foreign ministries held in Baku, Trend reports quoting
Azeri Foreign Ministry.
The consultations were held between the delegations headed by the
Azeri deputy foreign minister Khalaf Khalafov and Egyptian deputy
foreign ministers on European countries Fatma al Zahra Etman.
Egyptian deputy foreign minister appeared for further strengthening
of the relations, expressing the intention of her county to expand
bilateral relations with Azerbaijan.
The sides exchanged views on the prospects of the cooperation within
the framework of international organizations, as well as within the
Organization of Islamic Conference and UNO, discussed wide questions
of international and regional character and made consultations on
the regulation of Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Besides, the sides mentioned the necessity to develop the cooperation
in the spheres such as economy, trade, science, culture, tourism,
health, etc, expressed the importance of strengthening the legal base
and creating direct air relations between Baku and Cairo. During the
consultations, discussions were also held on the development of the
cooperation with the European Union.