KOCHARYAN EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO PUTIN ON DEATH OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 28 2006
YEREVAN, June 28. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan has addressed
a telegram to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the tragic
death of Russian diplomats in Baghdad.
“With deep sorrow and indignation we received the news about the
brutal violence against Russian diplomats who fell innocent victims
to terrorists in Baghdad,” Kocharyan said.
According to Kocharyan, the violent act is another confirmation of the
inhuman essence of terrorism and of the necessity of urgent struggle
against all manifestation of terrorism, says the message.
The RF State Duma adopted a resolution demanding a comprehensive
investigation of the murder of Russian diplomats in Baghdad. The
RF Foreign Office has demanded that the Iraqi authorities and the
Command of the multinational forces exert every effort to punish the
perpetrators of this crime against the Russian citizens.

ARMENIAN, GEORGIAN FMS THINK MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES TO KEEP DEVELOPING
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 28 2006
YEREVAN, June 28. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and
his Georgian counterpart Gela Bejuashvili who met in Tuesday Tbilisi
expressed confidence that the mutually beneficial partnership between
the two countries will keep developing.
The Armenian and Georgian Foreign Ministers were united in thinking
that Armenian-Georgian relations are based on close historic ties and
strong friendship and will keep developing in the future, Armenian
Foreign Ministry press service said.
he sides estimated Armenian-Georgian relations agenda as deep and
comprehensive and pointed out high-ranking officials’ mutual visits
and constant contacts between the two countries’ governments over a
wide range of issues as convincing evidence of that.
The ministers also stressed the necessity of coordinating
efforts in economy and business area to make the ties closer and
stimulate investments. They also emphasized that effective transport
communications development will spur economic relations between the
two countries.
Both Oskanyan and Bejuashvili were also convinced that problems
connected with Armenian-Georgian border delimitation and demarcation
will be solved very soon.
They considered prospects of regional development and the process of
regional conflicts settlement as well as exchanged information about
the course of negotiations over Karabakh, Abkhazia,and South Ossetia.

FOUR MURDERS OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS COMMITTED IN MOSCOW AND ITS REGION
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 28 2006
YEREVAN, June 28. /ARKA – RIA Novosty/. Four murders of Armenian
citizens committed in Moscow and Moscow region in the 1st quarter
2006, and the two of them are detected, Head of Russian Ministry of
Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev reported during a press conference.
The minister pointed out that the specific part of the crimes against
Armenian citizens in Russia is committed by their fellow countrymen.
“For instance, in January 2005 in Moscow, $300,000 was blackmailed
for abduction of Armenian citizen Varlanyan; however, the criminal
group consisting of four people that also included Armenian citizens
was arrested,” Nurgaliev said.
He also pointed out that the number of crimes committed by Armenian
citizens considerably exceeds the number of crimes against them. In
particular, the minister referred to the statistical data, according
to which Armenian citizens committed 2,496 crimes, 501 – against them,
and in 2005 this figure totaled 2,940 and 593, respectively.
According to the minister, during the first quarter of the current
year the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia points out reduction
of crimes, whose victims were Armenian citizens.
“During this period, 112 crimes were committed against Armenian
citizens, 11.1% less against the corresponding period of last year,”
the minister said. He pointed out that “the overwhelming majority of
crimes, related to Armenian citizens is of mercenary character”.
In particular, during the 1st quarter 2006 they committed 552 crimes,
including: over 100, related to making and sales of false documents,
26 – illegal sales of drugs, 82 thefts, 40 robberies, 19 frauds, 16 –
hold-ups, 11 – heavy physical trespass, 3 – murders and 3 cases of
gangsterism.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN YOUTH CONDEMNED “BARBARITY AND SHOCKING HOOLIGANISM OF TURKISH NATIONALISTS”
Regnum, Russia
June 28 2006
“Turkey tries to destroy Armenian heritage at the state level,” ARFD
Nikol Agbalyan Student Union Head Ishkhan Sagatelyan stated on June 27
at a press conference in Yerevan which covered incidents that happened
during the visit of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II to Istanbul.
The press conference’s participants informed that Republican Party’s
youth wing and ARFD Nikol Agbalyan Student Union released a statement
in which they condemned “barbarism and shocking hooliganism” that
occurred in Turkey during the visit of Garegin II. In particular, it
is stressed that “it is not the first case of attacks on Armenians
and Christian clergy in the Turkish history.” “Several months ago,
a fanatic slaughtered a Catholic confessor during divine service
in Turkey, country which intends to access the EU.” Representatives
of Armenian youth expressed apprehension with the fact that Turkish
mass media themselves have stirred up the public opinion, propagating
intolerance against Armenians and Christian religion, and the “Turkish
authorities have been destroying relics of Christian culture, insulting
heritage of religious minorities for dozens of years.”
“We request that international community, in particular, the EU member
states, would respond and condemn the campaign aimed at terrorizing
the Catholicos of All Armenians and which humiliates Turkish Christians
too, in particular, civil rights and religious freedom of Armenians,”
it is said in the document.
The appeal will be addressed to all embassies accredited in Armenia,
as well as international organizations. 33 youth political,
non-governmental, and student organizations signed the statement.
The Republican Party’s youth wing is going to apply for a meeting with
the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, after he returns back,
in order to discuss the possibility of increasing the Church’s role
in the lives of Armenian youth, Armenian Republican Party’s youth
wing Head Karen Avakyan informed at the press conference.
Visit of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II paid on June 22-28
was accompanied by numerous protest actions of Turkish nationalists.

AZERI PEOPLE SHOULD BE ATTENTIVE IN PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF AZERI ARMY OFFICER
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006
Extensive measures are taken for the protection of rights of officer
of Azeri army Ramil Safarov accused of killing Armenian officer in
Hungary, PM Azay Guliyev, the member of the Coordination Council
created for the protection of rights of Ramil Safarov, told, Trend
reports.
He noted that in order not to allow several groups to use the fact for
their own purposes, they have come to a conclusion not to exaggerate
the activity on the protection of Safarov’s rights. “Some persons
present Safarov as a person of year and other hero of year and the
third party – the honour of Azeri army. All these didn’t serve the
protection of Safarovs’s rights,” told Guliyev.
“The Appeal Court will consider his sentence due to which he has been
sentenced to 10-15 years. If we want to make contribution to him,
we should be attentive in this issue. Therefore, the Coordination
Council reveals its activity in a centralized form,” Guliyev added.

VISIT OF AZERBAIJAN DELEGATION TO EGYPT IN PROGRESS
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006
As was earlier informed, a delegation headed by the Executive
Secretary, the Vice-Chairman of the “Yeni Azerbaijan” Party, MP Ali
Ahmadov is on a visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
On June 26, Ali Ahmadov has met the Chairman of National Assembly
of ARE Ahmed Fathi Surur, the embassy of Azerbaijan to Egypt
told. At the meeting, discussed were the prospects of development
of inter-parliamentary communications. It was marked, that an
inter-parliamentary group of friendship of Azerbaijan and Egypt has
been established in Milli Majlis. As stated, a similar group will
appear in the Egyptian parliament in the near future.
On June 27, the Azerbaijan delegation has met Mohammed Tantavi, the
Sheikh of religious center “Al-Azhar”. Ali Ahmadov has told about
importance of development of relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt
in all spheres. He gave detailed information on the problems, which
have arisen during the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
the damage caused to Azerbaijan, heavy plight of the refugees and
IDPs. He also dwelt on questions, discussed recently at the 33rd
session of the Islamic Conference Foreign Ministers in Baku and the
decisions adopted here.
Sheikh Mohammed Tantavi has regarded the atrocity and ethnic conflict
committed by Armenians in Azeri lands as aggression against mankind.
He regretfully noted, that the international organizations still
have not given a fair estimation to this question. He has emphasized,
that Egypt always supports fair cause of Azerbaijan.
The same day, the head of Azerbaijan delegation Ali Ahmadov has given
interview to leading editions of Egypt.

ARMENIAN FM SAYS SHOULD SEEK ALTERNATIVE GAS SUPPLIERS
RIA Novosti, Russia
June 28 2006
TBILISI (Georgia), June 28 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia’s foreign minister
said Wednesday that the South Caucasus country should seek to diversify
its natural gas suppliers, following Georgia’s example.
In January, Russia doubled the price for natural gas supplies to the
former Soviet republic from $54 per 1,000 cubic meters to $110 as part
of its efforts to put the gas market on a free-market basis. But the
move has put some strain on relations with Armenia, whose struggling
economy is heavily dependent on Russian supplies.
“Like Georgia, Armenia should diversify its gas sources,” said Vardan
Oskanyan, who is in Georgia on a two-day visit. “We are currently
discussing with our Iranian colleagues issues concerning Iranian gas
supplies to Armenia.”
Georgia now imports natural gas from Iran via Azerbaijan. Supplies
began in January after explosions on a pipeline from Russia, previously
Georgia’s sole supplier.
Oskanyan said that the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline would be commissioned
by January 2007 and added that a mooted trans-Caspian gas pipeline
to pump gas from energy-rich Central Asia to Turkey and Europe via
Azerbaijan and Georgia, was also of interest for his country.
The construction of the 141-kilometer (90 mile) pipeline from Iran
began in 2004. It will bring Armenia about 36 billion cubic meters
of gas over 20 years. The natural gas will be used for electricity
generation for Armenia’s domestic needs and for export to Iran.

NO ARSONS DETECTED BY OSCE MISSION IN NAGORNO KARABAKH SECURITY ZONE
Regnum, Russia
June 28 2006
On June 28, a recurrent monitoring was held at the contact line of the
Karabakh and Azeri armed forces’ contact line near the settlement of
Yusifjanly, reported the Nagorno Karabakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Field assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Peter Kii (UK), Irzhi Aberle (Czech Republic), and
Hunter Folk (Germany) conducted the monitoring from the Karabakh side.
The monitoring was held according to the schedule. No ceasefire
violations were fixed. The representatives of the NKR Foreign and
Defense Ministries who accompanied the OSCE mission remarked that
despite the Azerbaijani party’s allegations of arsons in the Nagorno
Karabakh security zone, the monitoring participants did not reveal
any cases of arsons in the area.

MEMBERS OF AZERI DELEGATION IN PACE MET WITH HEAD OF COE ON ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006
The members of the Azeri delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) Gultakin Hajiyeva and Fazail Ibrahimli
met with the head of the Council of Europe on ecology and environment,
Gultakin Hajiyeva, deputy chief of Azeri delegation, told Trend.
She noted the meeting focused on the fires committed by Armenians in
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. “We presented information about
the vandalism of Armenians. We stressed that the fires committed by
Armenians break the ecological equilibrium in the region and inflict
serious damage to the environment,” Hajiyeva told.
Besides, she mentioned that this issue was discussed in the political
group of European democrats of PACE. “The head of Azeri delegation
Samad Seyidov and other parliamentarians delivered a report on the
tiopic. The head of Armenian delegation Tirgan Torasyan promised to
check up the matter and present information to the group,” she added.

SWEDISH PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI TERRITORIES
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006
The delegation led by Swedish parliamentarian Ulla Hofman visited the
occupied Azerbaijani territories at the invitation of the authorities
of the alleged “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” (APA).
The Swedish delegation composed of members of the Swedish Left Wing
Partys arrived at the occupied Azerbaijani territories through
Armenia and met with Rudik Usnunch, vice-speaker of the alleged
“Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s parliament” Expressing his gratitude
to the Swedish government for recognition of the so-called “Armenian
genocide”, Rudik Usnunch asked the parliamentarians to take steps in
recognizing “The Nagorno Karabakh Republic” as an independent state.
Ulla Hofman said the party she represents has always taken interest in
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and said they will have regular relations
with the “The Nagorno Karabakh Republic”.
The Swedish parliamentarians accepted the invitation to the events on
“the 13th anniversary of the liberation of Mardakert region of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic from Azerbaijani Armed Forces”.