FASSIER: PARTIES ARE UNABLE TO ACHIEVE A PROGRESS WITHOUT THE CO-CHAIRS
ARMINFO News Agency
October 3, 2006 Tuesday
After the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Bucharest,
the Co-chairs made a statement wherein they said they exhausted their
creativity. Factually, we have faced a fact when we should hint the
parties that they must think over the proposals on the table better,
said OSCE MG Co-chairman Bernard Fassier (France) at a press conference
in Yerevan.
B. Fassier said that he stated yesterday in Baku that the co-chairs
have exhausted not only their creativity but also themselves after
the two-year intensive work. Nevertheless, he said that the parties
are unable to achieve a progress without the Co-chairs. He said that
the new Co-chair joining the two old ones is an additional factor
for continuation of the process, which refreshed and increased the
creative approach. The advanced key principles are the best version the
mediators could propose. They must be a basis for a future agreement
on the settlement, he said. Bernard Fassier added that there were
cases in past when a draft document was prepared before the agreement
on the key principles by the parties. Of course, they were doomed to
failure. Now, the Co- chairs try to prepare the foundation and then
erect a building on it, B. Fassier said. We encourage the parties
to search ways for establishment of durable peace, he said. By their
statement, the Co-chairs did not violate the principle of confidential
negotiations and that the approaches and the steps of the parties to
these principles remain unknown. It is not, it was not and will not
be a public information so far, B. Fassier said.
He said that G8 Summit in St. Petersburg supported the key principles
proposed by OSCE MG. However, it is not enough if the parties fail to
arrive at an agreement as their peoples are not ready for co-residence,
no one can help. The future of the country and its people depends
on the ability to arrive at an agreement, he said for conclusion. In
his turn, Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) said that the Co-chairs proposed
additional elements to one of the principles.
However, he did not specified them.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RAMKAVAR-AZATAKAN PARTY LEADERSHIP MEETS WITH GERMAN PARLIAMENTARIAN
ARMINFO News Agency
October 3, 2006 Tuesday
Tuesday, the leadership of Ramkavar-Azatakan Party of Armenia (RAPA)
met with a member of German Bundestag, Vice Chairman of Bundestag
Caucasian group, a member of PACE, Michael George Link, RAPA press
service told ArmInfo.
Harutyun Arakelyan, leader of the party Ramkavar-Azatakan, presented
the strategy and tactics of RAPA before the parliamentary and
presidential elections. He also touched upon the development of
democratic processes, the draft of the national ideology conception,
which according to his is to be based on the model of establishment
of the national statehood. He criticized the election legislation
of Armenia that causes obstacles to the non-parliamentary powers to
enter the National Assembly.
Michael George Link agreed with the RAPA’s initiatives pointing out
that the national way of thinking should accompany development of
political ideas. A number of geo-political issues were discussed
as well.

EU COMMISSIONER SAYS TURKEY’S PACE OF REFORMS SLOWED DOWN
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
3 Oct 06
Ankara, 3 October: “As a friend of Turkey, I want to be frank and
open with you, as friends always should be: the pace of reforms
has slowed down in the past 12 months. We expect Turkey to fulfil
its commitments as regards to the additional protocol,” European
Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said on Tuesday [3 October].
Rehn took the floor at a meeting in Ankara on “European Social Model
and Syndicated Rights in EU Negotiation Process” arranged by Turk-Is
(Confederation of Turkish Employees’ Trade Unions).
Rehn said nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were very important
for the steps that would be taken in Turkey’s EU process.
“The role of social partners is central in any modern society. Social
dialogue has been a cornerstone of the European project since its
very beginning.
For Turkey it is also important since one of the premises for a
successful accession is a broad societal consensus on European goals.
The same goes for meeting the challenges of globalisation. Needless to
say, trade unions play a particularly valuable role in this respect,”
Rehn stated.
Rehn said: “I am glad to be today in Ankara for the first anniversary
of the EU’s accession negotiations with Turkey. The 3rd of October
2005 was a historic day. The decision opened up the process towards
Turkey’s accession to the EU and it implied a qualitative change
in our relations, as your country has since then no longer been a
candidate but a negotiating country.”
“It should not be surprise to any that there is an ongoing debate on
enlargement in the EU as well as in Turkey. Such a debate is normal
and healthy.
And you should not expect it to stop: it will accompany the process
until the very end, and even beyond,” Rehn said.
He said: “In the EU, this debate is wide. Voices have been raised
requesting a pause to enlargement. There are those who have concerns
about issues such as the effect on the labour market or the costs
for the present member states. There are some who wonder how EU
will function with Turkey as a member. But this debate is not
Turkey-specific, it has to do with the Union itself.”
“However, it is also perfectly normal that, every time we welcome a new
member to our family, we want to ensure that the house is comfortable
and functional for everybody. In other words, the EU must be able to
effectively continue to deliver its policies. This is nothing new,
but has been the challenge of all previous enlargements,” he stated.
Rehn indicated: “EU is a complex organization. We have our
institutional framework, within which the European Parliament, the
council and the commission play their distinctive roles. We are a
union of 25 member states, each of them with their democratically
elected government, its elections, its politicians who express their
views in the context of their national debate.”
He said: “We should welcome this debate and meet arguments with
counterarguments, myths with facts, and, inertia with action.
Turkey’s best response is a rock-solid, resolute commitment to reforms
that would allow the country to meet the conditions for accession.”
Rehn said: “Let there be no misunderstanding on the strategic value of
our common project. Europe needs Turkey as a key player, as a bridge
and as a proactive moderator. Turkish accession should set a powerful
counter-example to the alleged ‘clash of civilisations’.
Turkey is, also, essential for the stability and security of one of the
most unstable and insecure regions in the world. Turkey’s strategic
significance was once again illustrated by its decision to take part
in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.”
Rehn said: “The adoption of the ninth reform package is necessary. It
concerns a number of issues that Turkey needs to address as a matter
of urgency, even if it does not address the critical issue of free
speech. I am convinced that Turkey’s progress in resolutely pursuing
the reform agenda will have a most positive impact on the European
public opinion.”
Rehn said: “Freedom of expression must be brought fully in line with
European standards. There have been altogether some 70 cases against
journalists, authors, publishers and citizen activists for supposedly
“insulting Turkishness”, but in reality expressing non-violent
opinions. The prosecutions have been done on the basis of Article
301 of the penal code. We pointed out the loophole already when the
new penal code was prepared, but our advice was not taken into account.
The recent ruling of the Court of Cassation on the [ethnic Armenian
writer] Hrant Dink case set a jurisprudence which keeps freedom of
expression under threat in this country. The judicial proceedings
have a chilling effect and damage the important work carried out
by journalists, intellectuals and activists. It is high time that
Turkey brings the penal code into line with the European Convention
on Human Rights.”
He said: “As regards women’s rights, the implementation of legal
provisions, for example as regards punishment of crimes supposedly
committed in the name of honour, needs to be improved.”
“The terrorist activity of PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] has been
condemned by the EU without any ambiguity. But the problems of
the Southeast cannot be addressed through an exclusively security
approach. Turkey needs to develop a strategy for the region that
addresses its political and socio-economic problems together with
the cultural rights of the Kurdish population,” Rehn added.
“Turkey needs to ensure that full trade union rights are respected in
line with EU standards and ILO Conventions, in particular as regards
the right to organize, the right to strike and the right to bargain
collectively. To this effect, Turkey needs to eliminate existing
restrictions and adopt a fully revised legislation in this area for
both private and public sectors,” Rehn noted.
“Unfortunately, no progress has been made by Turkey on the trade union
rights recently. Therefore, one of my main messages to my Turkish
interlocutors today and tomorrow will be that we expect the government
to redress this and present a legislative initiative shortly, once the
ongoing consultation with social partners has been duly completed,”
he stated.
Rehn noted: “We appreciate the reforms Turkey has carried out in the
recent years. But as a friend of Turkey, I want to be frank and open
with you, as friends always should be: the pace of reforms has slowed
down in the past 12 months.”
He stated: “The expectations have risen since Turkey became a
negotiating country on 3 October last year. It is therefore all the
more important that new initiatives are taken and tangible progress
is still achieved before the Commission will present its report on
8 November.”
“Since signing the Additional Protocol of the Association Agreement
in July 2005 as a condition to open the accession negotiations,
Turkey has not moved towards its implementation. It has not removed
obstacles to the free movement of goods, including restrictions
on transport links with Cyprus. Y et, this is a legal, contractual
obligation Turkey has made,” he noted.
Rehn said: “Our common endeavour of the EU accession process with
Turkey is not only about reforms and chapters. It is as much about
communication and mutual understanding.”
Stating that many Europeans ask questions which concern geography,
culture, religion, civilization, history, Rehn indicated: “They ponder
what will be the impact of Turkey’s EU accession on the philosophy
of the European integration and on the effective functioning of the
EU. Many concerns are understandable and must be addressed in the
course of the negotiations. Others result from ignorance of what
Turkey is today.”
“Concerns of the Turkish public opinion seem to be of a different
nature. The main challenge is the perceived uncertainty of the EU’s
true intentions towards Turkey. As I said, we mean business, and
you can rest assured that the EU is committed to pursue Turkey’s EU
accession, on the condition it meets our criteria fully,” he stated.
“Be that as it may, we must get to know each other better. This is the
aim of the Commission’s programme to enable a civil society dialogue
between Turkey and the EU. Some 70m euros will be committed to this
programme in 2006,” Rehn stressed.
“If Turkey succeeds in its reforms and meets the criteria of accession,
it will become an ever stronger bridge of civilizations.
This is a great opportunity for both Europe and Turkey, especially for
their younger generations. I want to make sure that this opportunity
is not missed,” he added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPRESSES “DEEP SORROW” AT CHIRAC STATEMENT IN ARMENIA
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
3 Oct 06
Nkara, 3 October: Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed deep sorrow over
statements of French President Jacques Chirac who supported so-called
Armenian genocide during his visit to Armenia.
Foreign Ministry stated that it is not possible to accept Chirac’s
definition of the incidents (which occurred under World War I
conditions in 1915 and were interpreted differently by many respected
international historians) as “genocide”.
“However, when several implementations during colonialism period
of France were brought onto agenda last year, President Chirac had
defended the view that historical incidents should be examined by
historians,” noted the ministry.
“Turkish people have rightfully reacted to Chirac who is making
groundless statements and giving an impression as if so-called Armenian
genocide is among Turkey’s EU criteria instead of supporting Turkey’s
proposal to Armenia to examine the allegations in a joint commission
of historians for which we have not yet received a positive response,”
added themMinistry.

EU OFFICIAL RESPONDS TO TURKISH ARMY CHIEF ON MILITARY’S ROLE; VIEWS FREEDOMS
Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
3 Oct 06
Ankara, 3 October: Freedom of expression, religious freedoms and
civilian-military relations are political criteria that Turkey
should fulfil, as all other member states have done, said Hansjoerg
Kretschmer, the head of the delegation of the European Commission
to Turkey.
Appearing on a live broadcast on Turkish private NTV channel,
Kretschmer underlined importance of progress in political criteria,
and said that Turkey has to do more.
Kretschmer noted that EU’s stance towards civilian-military relations
is obvious, and he expressed his views about this matter in a meeting
held by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV),
when commenting on yesterday’s remarks of Chief of General Staff Gen
Yasar Buyukanit at the War Academies.
Recalling Buyukanit’s words that “the army has a different role in
Turkey”, Kretschmer said: “There are two different positions and
views. And the commanders said that the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) is
different from the armies in the EU. We will see if it changes within
the negotiation process. Civilian-military relations are important in
the EU process, and it should be solved. I think that it is possible.”
Kretschmer expressed belief that Turkey will fulfil all required
criteria, adding: “I am hopeful and optimistic. I think that Turkey
will be successful at the end of the process.”
On the so-called Armenian genocide allegations, Kretschmer said that
it is not one of the accession criteria but it can be effective within
the general framework of the accession process.
Kretschmer noted that Turkish government is determined and willing
to make more reforms.
Commenting on the views that the EU is trying to divide Turkey,
Kretschmer said: “It is even impossible to talk about Turkey’s
division. Political criteria are for the best interest of Turkey and
Turkish people.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROMANIAN PRESIDENT PAYS OFFICIAL VISIT TO ARMENIA 4-5 OCTOBER
Rompres news agency, Bucharest,
3 Oct 06
Bucharest, 3 October: Romanian President Traian Basescu over 4-5
October will pay an official visit in the Republic of Armenia at
the invitation of his counterpart Robert Kocharian, the Presidential
Administration informs in a release on Tuesday [3 October].
The visit is part of Romania’s policy to spread, as a future
EU member, the European policies in the Black Sea region and the
Southern Caucasus.
During his visit, President Basescu will hold official talks with
his Armenian counterpart and sign some bilateral legal documents:
the Common Political Declaration of the two presidents, the Agreement
Memorandum between the Romanian and Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministries
on European and Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, the governmental programme
on cooperation in the cultural, educational and scientific fields
over 2006-2009, the protocol amending the governmental agreement on
promotion and mutual protection of investments as well as the protocol
amending the governmental agreement on trade and economic relations,
technical and scientific cooperation.
Traian Basescu will also meet Armenian Prime Minister Andranyk Margayan
and His Beatitude Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians.
The head of state will also meet students and professors with
the State University in Yerevan, on which occasion he will tackle
Romania’s experience during the European integration process, the
release mentions.
Romania and the Republic of Armenia established diplomatic relations
on 17 December 1991.
The Armenian embassy to Romania was opened on 18 April 1994, and five
years later Romania opened its embassy to Armenia, on 9 February
1999. On 20 September 1994, the presidents of the two countries,
Levon Ter-Petrosian and Ion Iliescu, during the visit of the Armenian
president to Bucharest, signed the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation
Relations between the two countries.
The bilateral trade relations between Romania and Armenia are based
on the Agreement between Romania’s Government and the Government of
the Republic of Armenia on Trade and Economic Relations and Technical
and Scientific Cooperation, on the Agreement between the Governments
of Romania and of the Republic of Armenia on Promotion and Mutual
Protection of Investments, on the Convention on Avoiding Double
Taxation and on other documents of an economic character.
The Romanian-Armenian Joint Commission on Economic, Technical and
Scientific Cooperation was established for strengthening the bilateral
economic cooperation, and held its first session in April 2000,
during the visit paid to Bucharest by President Robert Kocharian. The
ministers of transports are joint chairmen of the commission. Bilateral
trade in 2005 amounted to 6.1m dollars, of which 6.06m dollars being
exports.

RUSSIA ISN’T DENYING THAT THE ARRESTED OFFICERS ARE INTELLIGENCE AGENTS
by Pavel Felgenhauer
Translated by Elena Leonova
Source: Novaya Gazeta, No. 75, October 2-4, 2006, p. 3
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
October 3, 2006 Tuesday
Why were they operating without diplomatic cover?
Russia must not fight a war against Georgia; It was incredibly stupid
to keep a group of Russian intelligence agents without reliable cover
in Georgia, a country which is striving to join NATO and quarreling
with Russia. Just like in the Qatar incident, our leaders failed
their own officers and Russia as a whole.
>From here in Moscow, it’s impossible to figure out the exact nature
of the crimes committed by the Russian officers arrested in Georgia:
Colonel Alexander Savva, Lieutenant-Colonel Dmitri Kazantsev, Colonel
Alexander Zavgorodnyi, Major Alexander Baranov – and Lieutenant-Colonel
Konstantin Pichugin, who is still avoiding arrest by staying inside
the headquarters of the Group of Russian Troops in the Trans-Caucasus
(GRVZ) in Tbilisi. Georgia is displaying evidence in the form of
compromising tapes, video footage, and testimony from recruited
agents. Moscow is denying all of it. But the Georgians also claim
that the arrested men are from the Russian General Staff’s Main
Intelligence Directorate (GRU) – and our side isn’t denying that.
So what were these GRU officers doing on the territory of a
neighbor-state without diplomatic cover? Professional intelligence
agents, by definition, engage in collecting secret information and
recruiting agents. The GRU has a points system for assessing the
performance of its officers in the field, based on how many agents
they manage to recruit and what kind of information they manage
to obtain. It’s perfectly obvious that GRU officers on Georgian
territory must have been engaged in these activities – otherwise
they would have faced reprimands from their superiors. Moreover, in
recent years classic peacetime espionage has sometimes escalated into
diversionary-terrorist activity: like the incident in Qatar in 2004,
for example, when Russian special service officers used a car-bomb to
kill former Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and his driver,
also seriously injuring Yandarbiyev’s young son.
According to the Russian-Georgian troop withdrawal agreement of 2005,
all heavy hardware has been removed from the Akhalkalaki base and
most has been removed from the Batumi base. In the past, the GRVZ was
aimed against Turkey: a NATO state hosting some important American
bases. But now only fragments of the GRVZ remain in Georgia; its
capacities for electronic and technological espionage on the other
side of the former Soviet border have been greatly reduced.
Obviously, the Georgian authorities had every reason to suspect
that the GRU officers with the GRVZ were working against Georgia,
and to keep the officers under close surveillance. But in general,
even if the officers were supposed to be working against Turkish
and US military forces rather than Georgia, it was incredibly,
astoundingly stupid to keep a group of professional intelligence
agents without reliable cover in a country which is striving to join
NATO and quarreling with Russia. Just like in the Qatar incident,
our leaders failed their own officers and Russia as a whole. As a
result, the situation is heading for war.
Since the start of this year, Russia has imposed one round of economic
sanctions after another on Georgia: import bans on wine, mineral
water, agricultural produce. In January, a major gas pipeline and
a high-voltage electricity power-line leading to the Trans-Caucasus
were blown up. The Russian authorities declared this to be “sabotage
by international terrorists and Chechen guerrillas.”
The Georgians didn’t believe that story – and they were right to
disbelieve it, since our investigators haven’t managed to track
down a single perpetrator or name any names. But at the site of the
electricity power-line bombing, investigators did find part of a
device using plastic explosives – which the guerrillas don’t have,
but which is used by GRU special assignment teams.
In response, Tbilisi took measures to reduce its dependence on Russian
energy resources. Georgia is no longer buying electricty from Russia –
and shutting off gas supplies to Georgia would also affect Armenia,
our ally. Moreover, Tbilisi could temporarily cover its needs by
buying gas from Azerbaijan and Iran.
Now our leaders are threatening to deport Georgians who are living
and working in Russia, while forbidding them to send money to
their families in Georgia. This will lead to nothing but harm and
additional embarrassment. The ruble is now fully convertible, so
there are no restrictions on foreigners sending money abroad, and
post office transfers can always be routed via other countries –
via friends in Armenia, for example. Deporting Georgians en masse
would be logicstically difficult, criminal, and completely unethical.
Since no other forms of leverage remain, Russia announced on September
28 that it is recalling its ambassador from Georgia, and evacuated
almost all diplomatic personnel on September 30: only two Russian
diplomats and some security staff remain at the Russian Embassy
in Tbilisi. In effect, diplomatic relations with Georgia have been
broken off; all that remains is to take the final step – launching
aggression by sea, air, and land.
Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told a press conference
that in the near future, under the guise of a military exercise,
substantial forces from Russia’s 58th Army would move toward the
Rok Tunnel on the border between North Ossetia and South Ossetia,
while Black Sea Fleet ships would be deployed off the coast of Georgia.
Georgia’s security and law enforcement leaders – Merabishvili and
Defense Minister Iraklii Okruashvili – say they’re not afraid of
further escalation in relations with Russia, since they don’t believe
that the decrepit Russian Armed Forces are capable of fighting
a successful offensive war in the Trans-Caucasus. And even if they
could – how much glory would there be in crushing Georgia? A “victory”
would mean destabilization in Georgia and throughout the Caucasus,
international isolation for Russia, and general contempt.
An unsuccessful operation would be an even bigger disgrace, with
Russian troops and peacekeepers driven out.
President Putin could still salvage the situation if he were to
visit Tbilisi in person, right now – fortunately, he’s currently
at his Sochi residence, not far away. He could lift the absurd
trade embargo, take the arrested officers home aboard his own jet,
and promise to support Georgia’s territorial integrity in deeds as
well as words. A friendly Georgia, peacefully reintegrated, would be
far more advantageous and useful for Russia than frozen conflicts,
semi-criminal unrecognized regims, and the inevitable end result –
a chaotic bloodbath in the Caucasus.

GEORGIA INTRODUCES NEW TRANSIT REGULATIONS FOR RUSSIAN MILITARY
RIA Novosti, Russia
October 03, 2006
TBILISI, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – Georgia’s Defense Ministry said
Tuesday it had established new regulations for the transit of Russian
military hardware and personnel via Georgia to Armenia and back
to Russia.
The Defense Ministry said on its Web site that “according to an
agreement signed between Georgia and the Russian Federation on March
31, 2006 on the ‘Organization of Transit of Military Cargoes and
Military Personnel through the Territory of Georgia between Georgia
and the Russian Federation,’ the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, from
October 9, 2006, establishes new rules for organization of the transit
of military cargoes and military personnel, their family members,
accompanying groups and military transport through the territory of
Georgia to the 102nd Russian military base.”
The Russian 102nd military base in Gyumri, about 120 kilometers
(75 miles) from the Armenian capital Yerevan, is part of a joint air
defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was
deployed in Armenia in 1995.
Vladimir Kupardadze, a senior officer with Russia’s military command
in the South Caucasus, said it remained unclear how the new regulations
would affect travel arrangements because he was yet to receive official
notification from Georgia.

ARMENIA, EU TO SIGN COOPERATION PLAN IN NOVEMBER
Agence France Presse — English
October 2, 2006 Monday 6:24 PM GMT
Armenia and the European Union will sign a joint action plan on
cooperation on November 14, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja
and his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian said Monday.
“This is a document of historic importance for us that invites
Armenia to participate in an intense dialogue with the EU and in
the integration process,” said Oskanian, adding however that it was
premature to talk about Armenia actually joining the EU.
Tuomioja said the plan, part of the EU’s neighbourhood policy, would
lead to significantly enhanced economic and political cooperation.
This poverty-stricken Caucasian former Soviet republic, still at
odds with its neighbour Azerbaijan after a war in the early 1990s,
has traditionally maintained close ties with Russia but has also
declared integration with the West to be a priority.
French President Jacques Chirac visited here at the weekend and
praised the Armenian people, also urging Turkey to recognise World
War I-era massacres of Armenians as genocide.

AZERI, ARMENIAN MINISTERS TO MEET IN MOSCOW ON 6 OCTOBER – RUSSIAN MEDIATOR
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan,
3 Oct 06
Yerevan, 3 October: The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
are expected to meet in Moscow on 6 October, the Russian co-chairman
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, said in Yerevan today.
Addressing a news conference on the results of the mediators’
negotiations with the Armenian leadership, Merzlyakov said that the
main purpose of the co-chairmen’s visit to the region “was to achieve
a resumption of direct contacts between the two sides and we have
achieved this target”.
The Russian mediator said it cannot be ruled out that the Armenian
and Azerbaijani ministers may meet again in mid-October following
the meeting in Moscow on 6 October.
“We hope that the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers will give the two countries’ presidents a chance to meet,”
the French co-chairmen of the Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier, said.
“We are often asked if we are upbeat or downbeat. We prefer avoiding
this direct question and say that any small opportunity to achieve
a breakthrough should be taken,” the French diplomat said.
US co-chairman Matthew Bryza said that “more vigour and more creative
approaches” should be employed in the negotiations.
“We are not saying that we are on the threshold of a major breakthrough
in the talks and that all difficult issues have been overcome. At
the same time, during this visit we saw both parties standing ready
to seek ways of moving ahead,” Bryza said.
The US mediator said that the main factor slowing down the process
of reaching agreement is the lack of confidence between the parties.