WASHINGTON: NO FAILURE IN NEGOTIATING PROCESS ON KARABAKH
Regnum, Russia
March 7 2006
“I do not believe talks between presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
in Rambouillet may be considered as failure. Also, I do not think, that
the talks reached a deadlock and necessity to change negotiating format
is imminent, because OSCE Minsk Group has exhausted its abilities,”
stated yesterday adviser to US State Department under-Secretary on
Europe and Eurasia Matthew Bryza.
As a REGNUM correspondent in Yerevan informs, Bryza believes, that
parties of Karabakh conflict are “very close to settlement, but
they should make several most difficult steps.” “Those questions,
which stayed uncoordinated, are most difficult ones and they need
formulation of clear position from the both heads of states,” the
American diplomat stressed. “If heads of Armenia and Azerbaijan fix
accurate deadlines to achieve the agreement, the USA, in its turn, will
render maximum assistance to solve the problem,” stated Matthew Bryza.
At the same time, the adviser to US State Department under-Secretary
practically refute information, that official Washington is going to
recall its ambassador in Yerevan John Evans, because of his statements
concerning international acknowledgement of Armenian Genocide in
Ottoman Turkey in the beginning of last century.
Additionally, Matthew Bryza expressed his anxiety about destruction
of Armenian cultural heritage in Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan). “Events,
happening in Nakhichevan, are awful tragedy and we focus our attention
on them,” stated he, stressing that Washington brings its anxiety to
the notice of the Azerbaijani authorities.

EUROPEAN MP ADMITS TO ERROR IN PRESENTING GARABAGH AS ARMENIAN TERRITORY
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 7 2006
Baku, March 6, AssA-Irada
A European MP has admitted to making a mistake in presenting Upper
Garabagh not as Azerbaijani but Armenian territory.
A map of the South Caucasus region citing the false information has
been included in the report of the European Parliament’s Foreign
Affairs Committee covering “frozen conflicts”.
The legislative body has also lately passed a resolution concerning
the alleged desecration of Armenian graves in Azerbaijan’s exclave
of Nakhchivan, which angered Azeri officials.
The map uploaded to the European Parliament’s website on February 22
was removed on Monday.
The rapporteur Dick Surander, who prepared the report, admitted full
responsibility for the mistake, saying he was pressed for time and it
was the only map he could find. “Others are not to blame for this,”
he told the Baku-based ANS TV channel.
Surander said it would be wrong to interpret the incident as
recognition of Upper Garabagh “as an independent state”, adding that
the map would never be placed on the web-page again.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said the Azeri embassy
in Belgium was instructed last week to look into the issue.

RA NA SPEAKER HANDED OSCE MEDAL FOR PROMOTING CLOSE COOPERATION WITH THIS ORGANIZATION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan received a medal from OSCE for promoting close cooperation
with this organization, Armenian Parliament press service told ARKA
News Agency on Monday. The medal was handed by OSCE Yerevan Office
Head, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin.
The Ambassador stressed the importance of Parliament’s role in forming
civil and democratic institutions and pointed out kind relations
established between OSCE and Armenian Parliament.
Baghdasaryan, in turn, said the cooperation had produced particular
results.
Pryakhin also handed books in Armenian, Russian and English languages
to parliamentary library.

OSCE, RA NA TO WIDEN ASPECTS OF COOPERATION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA/. OSCE and Armenian National Assembly intend
to widen aspects of cooperation, Armenian Parliament’s press service
told ARKA News Agency on Monday quoting Nati0onal Assembly Speaker
Arthur Baghdasaryan and OSCE Minsk Group’s Russian Co-Chair Ambassador
Vladimir Pryakhin as saying during their meeting.
Noting that after constitutional reforms the Parliament obtained wider
powers, the Ambassador attached importance to further cooperation
saying ties between the organization and Armenian National Assembly
should become closer.
The sides decided to target their joint activity also on improving
lawmaking process and ensuring free and transparent parliamentary
elections expected in Armenia in 2007 as well as to launch
anticorruption campaign.

ARMENIA’S DEFENSE OFFICE REFUTES INFORMATION ON SHOOTING OF AZERBAIJANI POSITIONS FROM ARMENIA’S TERRITORY
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA/. The RA Ministry of Defense has refuted the
information on the shooting of Azerbaijani positions from the Armenian
territory. “No shooting was from Armenia’s territory,” Colonel Seyran
Shahsuvaryan, Press Secretary to the RA Minister of Defense, told ARKA.
Referring to the RA Ministry of Defense, RIA Novosty reported that an
Azerbaijani soldier was killed as a result of shooting from Armenia’s
territory at 4:45 a.m.

PARTIES OF NK CONFLICT CLOSE TO AGREEMENT, MATTHEW BRYZA SAYS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
The parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are close to an agreement,
Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs, told reporters in Yerevan.
The most important steps remain, he added. The issues that have to be
settled are the most difficult ones, and the leaders of the states
must have clear positions, Bryza said. The leaders of the states
must determine the terms of settlement themselves, and “we will do
our best for the decision to be made as soon as possible.”
The US diplomat disagreed with the opinion that the negotiations for
the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are in the deadlock.
He disagrees with those claiming that the Rambouillet negotiations
failed, and the OSCE Minsk Group has exhausted its potential.
The Presidents did not arrive at a decision in Rambouillet, but it
does not mean that the negotiations failed.

NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS TO BECOME NATURAL RESULT OF PROGRESS IN NK SETTLEMENT
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA/. Normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations will become a natural result of a progress in the Karabakh
settlement, Deputy Assistant of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs Matthew Bryza told reporters.
“I touch upon the problem of the Armenian-Turkish relations during
all my visits to Turkey or Armenia,” he said.
Bryza pointed out that during his current visit to Armenia,
issues related to electric energy exports and cooperation in
the Euro-Atlantic family were discussed in the context of the
Armenian-Turkish relations.

USA BELIEVES IN DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN ARMENIA: STATE DEPARTMENT REP.
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006
YEREVAN, March 7. /ARKA – “Novosty-Armenia”/. The USA believes in
the democratization process in Armenia, Deputy Assistant of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza told reporters.
“Armenia now is in the process of democratization. We believe in
this process, otherwise, we would not propose to include Armenia in
‘Millennium Challenge Account’ program,” he said.
According to him, as any other process, democratization requires
big work.
“Political will of the authorities is necessary to spread this idea
among the people,” Bryza said.
According to him, regular citizens should also take part in building
democracy through civil society and participation in elections.
“Political parties, including oppositional ones, should be active
and constructive,” Bryza said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEIGHBOURS ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TRADE ACCUSATIONS
Agence France Presse — English
March 7, 2006 Tuesday 4:36 PM GMT
Baku
Azerbaijan accused neighbouring Armenia Tuesday of breaching a
ceasefire in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and causing
the death of an Azeri soldier, in the latest round of feuding between
the rivals.
Armenia quickly denied the charge and responded with
counter-accusations that Azeri troops had killed an Armenian soldier
last week.
The Azeri defence ministry said Armenian soldiers had opened fire
early Tuesday. A second soldier was said to be seriously wounded.
Nagorno-Karabakh, the focus the dispute, is a largely Armenian
populated enclave on Azeri territory. When the two former Soviet
republics became independent, they fought a war over the region that
claimed around 25,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.
It ended in a tense ceasefire in 1994 with Armenian forces in control
of most of the enclave and seven surrounding Azerbaijani regions,
but Karabakh’s status remains unresolved.
The Armenian side quickly denied Tuesday’s accusation.
“The information from Azerbaijan about the death of a soldier does
not correspond to the facts,” a spokesman for the defence force in
Karabakh told AFP. “We are also tired of Armenia’s periodic violations
of the ceasefire.”
The Armenian defence ministry in Yerevan had previously issued a
statement saying Azeri forces had opened fire on March 3 in the
direction of northern Armenia causing head wounds to a 19 year-old
soldier who had later died in hospital.
The Armenian ministry claimed Azerbaijan had violated the ceasefire
on March 4,5,6 and 7.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said last week talks on Nagorno
Karabakh enclave were at a dead end and signalled that his country
should prepare for renewed war with Armenia.
“The Armenian side is stalling for time and the fact that the
negotiating process has reached a dead end is the fault of the Armenian
side,” Aliyev said.
“We are the victimized party and this gives us the right to resolve
the issue by any means. We must get ready and the population must be
mobilized,” Aliyev said.

RUSSIA REMAINS KEY TRADE PARTNER TO SOUTH CAUCASUS – DIPLOMAT
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 7, 2006 Tuesday
Russia will remain a key trade partner to all South Caucasian countries
for a long time, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European
and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza said in Yerevan on Tuesday.
He said that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia should choose the way
of cooperation with Russia.
Bryza’s negotiations in Yerevan centered on energy security.
Positive cooperation between Armenia and Russian gas suppliers has
been developed for years, and should naturally go on, he said. Yet
the best way to energy security is diversification of supplies, the
diplomat said. He said it is a matter of gas, hydro and thermal power,
and nuclear energy.
Rates of the development of military-political relations between the
United States and Armenia depend on Yerevan, the official said.
Armenia has taken many important steps towards closer cooperation with
the Euro-Atlantic community, he said, emphasizing the Armenia-NATO
individual partnership plan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress