BRITISH JOURNALIST JEOPARDIZES RUSSIA’S SECURITY?
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 15:27 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia rejected to grant entry visa to Thomas de
Waal, the Caucasus editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(IWPR). The Russian Foreign Ministry made a reference to the law,
which prohibits foreigners to enter the state if it’s necessary for
the national security. As Thomas de Waal said in a conversation
with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the rejection of visa is to all
appearance conditioned by his engagement in the investigation of the
Chechen problem for a long time. “Yes, I have written a book titled
“Chechnya. Calamity in the Caucasus” but it was 10 years ago. May be
I was refused a visa because I was a witness at the process of Ahmed
Zakayev’s extradition. But 3 years have passed since that time. Russia
is an unpredictable country and anything can be expected from it,”
Thomas de Waal said.
At that he underscored that this story is by no means bound with
Nagorno Karabakh. “I enjoy wonderful relations with the sides in the
conflict zone, including the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,” the British journalist said.
To note, rejection of Russian entry visa bases on the law of 1996
(article 27.1) that says “Foreign citizens and persons without
citizenship are prohibited from entering Russia if it’s necessary
for the national security.”

U.S. THINKS OSAMA BIN LADEN HIDES IN ONE OF CIS STATES
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.07.2006 17:12 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Osama bin Laden is hiding on the territory of
one of the central Asian states of the former USSR, Richard Clarke,
former presidential adviser on counter-terrorism said in an interview
with the National Public Radio. “You are looking for him throughout
Pakistan and can’t find him. Maybe it’s just because he is not there,”
he said. However he did not exclude bin Laden may be in Somali or
Iran. Russia refused to comment on the statement.
“We do not know whether such statements are grounded and cannot
comment on them,” said the press office of the Russian Intelligence
Service. In response to the statement by the U.S. official the law
enforcement bodies of Kyrgyzstan said today they do not possess any
information on the issue.
“This statement should be given serious treatment,” Secretary of
the Security Council of the republic said. He underscored he doesn’t
exclude the possibility of bin Laden’s appearance in the region.
The Central Asian republics should be vigilant, he added.
Bin Laden is the “most wanted” man in the western countries. As part
of an intensified effort to capture terrorist mastermind Osama bin
Laden, the State Department is considering doubling the bounty on his
head to $50 million. Bin Laden was rumored in the press to have died,
however the rumors did not prove true. In an address to the U.S. Osama
bin Laden urged to return the body of his top deputy Musab al-Zarqawi,
who was killed in Iraq June 7. Washington said the voice was genuine,
reported Vsglyad Russian newspaper.

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.