1ST RA OMBUDSWOMEN TO BE INVITED TO DISCUSSION OF REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF OMBUDSMAN IN 2005
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 11 2006
YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. The first RA Ombudswomen Larisa Alaverdyan
will be invited to discussion of the report on the activities of
the RA Ombudsman and violations in the sphere of human rights in
2005, according to the Speaker of the RA National Assembly Arthur
Baghdasaryan. “Alaverdyan will be officially invited to discussion and
she will be also given right to make a speech”, Baghdasaryan stated.
Report about the activities of the Ombudsman in 2005 is included in
the agenda of the 4-day session of the RA NA.
Deadline of authorities of the RA Ombudswoman Larisa Alaverdya expired
on January 5, 2006. New ombudsman of Armenia was elected candidate
of the ruling coalition of Armenia, rector of the Academy of State
Governing of Armenia Armen Harutyunyan on February 17, 2006.

ATTENTION FOCUSES ON IRAN IN BUSH-ALIYEV TALKS
Rovshan Ismayilov
EurasiaNet, NY
April 11 2006
An upcoming meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
US President George W. Bush is fuelling speculation about what role
Azerbaijan may play in the conflict between Iran, its neighbour to
the south, and the US over Iran’s nuclear research program.
The White House announced on April 10 that President Bush will meet
with President Aliyev in the White House on April 28. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Information about the White House’s invitation was first reported
by Radio Liberty on April 6 and confirmed by Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on April 7. Novruz Mammadov, the head of
the presidential administration’s international relations department,
said that Ilham Aliyev will meet with US President George W. Bush
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The largely unexpected invitation has sparked frustration among
Azerbaijan’s opposition and celebrations among the country’s ruling
elite. During last year’s parliamentary election campaign, the
opposition had targeted the lack of a White House invitation for
President Aliyev as proof of Azerbaijan’s poor record on democratic
reform.
Coming just one month after a US State Department report that
strongly criticized human rights conditions in Azerbaijan, the sudden
invitation has surprised many local observers. News of the trip
has encouraged speculations over what role Azerbaijan might play in
the conflict between the US and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear research
program. Attention is also being given to the ongoing Nagorno Karabakh
talks, Caspian surveillance system negotiations and other security
and energy issues.
Iran, which borders Azerbaijan and has a large ethnic Azeri
minority, is expected to feature prominently in the White House’s
discussions with President Aliyev. Recent articles in The New Yorker
and The Washington Post have indicated that the US administration is
considering launching a military attack against Iran. The April 10 New
Yorker article by investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh claims
that “US Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets,
and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran,
under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with
anti-government ethnic-minority groups,” including ethnic Azeris.
Azerbaijani officials have been careful in discussing what the US
conflict with Iran means for Baku’s relations with Washington. In a
visit to the Azerbaijani capital in late March, however, Assistant
US Secretary of State Daniel Fried stated that the US is keeping
the Azerbaijani government informed about its plans concerning Iran
“because Azerbaijan has the right to be aware about it,” local media
reported. Fried also said that the US looks forward to reaching
consensus with Azerbaijan on this issue. The US official did not
dismiss the possibility of US troops being deployed in Azerbaijan some
day, although said that a large military base should not be expected
any time soon.
Turan news agency chief political analyst Zafar Guliyev believes that
Iran is the main reason for Ilham Aliyev’s invitation to the US. “I
think they [the US] will try to involve Azerbaijan in the anti-Iranian
coalition. The White House wants to get Azerbaijan’s approval for
using its territory against Iran. To get Azerbaijan’s participation
in the coalition is as important as it was during the Iraq campaign,”
Guliyev told Day.az on April 10.
While acknowledging that Iran has featured in a topic of discussion
with Washington, government officials, however, maintain that
Azerbaijan does not intend to join any alliance against the Persian
Gulf state. At an April 6 press conference, Deputy Foreign Minister
Araz Azimov rejected reports that the US is attempting to include
Azerbaijan in an anti-Iranian coalition. “Azerbaijan has no intention
to become part of a coalition against someone else and wants to
build friendly relations with all the region’s countries,” Azimov
said. The official noted only that “Azerbaijan is concerned about
some activities of Iran in the disputed sector of the Caspian Sea.”
Azimov stressed that “the US wants nothing from Azerbaijan.”
Washington’s interest in Azerbaijan, the official continued, is
“to see Azerbaijan developing as a normal stable state. That is why
possible threats to Azerbaijan’s national security were discussed.”
Guliyev argues that sooner or later Azerbaijan will have to choose
between Washington and Tehran. “For the time being, the Azerbaijani
government did well balancing in its foreign policy, but there are
moments when choice is inevitable.”
Independent political analyst Rasim Musabekov agrees that concerns
over Iran form the primary reason for the White House’s invitation
to President Aliyev, but sees little chance that Azerbaijan would
stand with the US against Iran. “Given the geographical neighborhood,
and the historical, cultural and human links, it is impossible for
Azerbaijan to become a member of such a coalition. But regardless
of whether Azerbaijan supports US plans or not, their realization –
whether as economic sanctions or military actions — will have a huge
impact on our country.”
Analysts project that the two sides will discuss many issues about
Iran that are unrelated to the country’s nuclear ambitions, among
them border security, prevention of Iranian threats against US and
Western-owned property in Azerbaijan, and security for Azerbaijan’s
oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijani officials have
noted that they are also interested in discussion of Iran’s treatment
of ethnic minority Azerbaijanis.
Many observers assume that securing Azerbaijan’s support for the
US position on Iran will be linked to progress on resolution of the
18-year conflict with Armenia over the disputed exclave of Nagorno
Karabakh. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has announced that he
received an “interesting proposal” for resolution of the Karabakh
dispute during his April 7-8 trip to Washington. Before meeting with
Mammadyarov on April 7, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke on
the phone with both President Aliyev and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian, according to the US State Department press office.
Baku, according to Mamadyarov, will announce its response to the
proposal when Steven Mann, US co-chair of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group, which supervises the Karabakh
talks, visits the Azerbaijani capital on April 18.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, who visited Washington in late
March, has also told reporters that a130-kilometer-long section of
the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, currently under Armenian occupation,
made up part of his discussions with US officials.
A series of recent visits paid to the US by Azerbaijani officials
and to Baku by senior US diplomats indicate further likely topics
for discussion during President Aliyev’s visit.
Security, energy and reforms issues were also discussed during an
April 8 meeting between Condoleezza Rice and Elmar Mammadyarov,
US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish told Turan on April 10.
For its part, the delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Azimov
reviewed joint anti-terror efforts, non-proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD), border security and the general military
and political situation in the Caspian Sea basin. The delegation
included Azerbaijani Naval Forces Commander-in-Chief Shahin Sultanov,
and high level representatives from the Ministry of National Security
and State Border Service.
Of particular note are the two Caspian Sea basin surveillance systems
proposed by the US (Caspian Guard) and Russia (CasFor). Russia
maintains that the two systems cannot exist in the same area,
and favors establishment of a common system, according to Gennady
Yevsyukov, spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Baku. Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, however, has stated that Azerbaijan will
have to make the ultimate decision about whether the two systems
can co-exist.
According to Azimov, a number of agreements were reached during
the visit. “The . . . risks and threats in the Caspian region [are]
very complicated. There are elements of war, terrorism, environmental
threats,” Azimov told the state-run Azertag news agency on April 1.
“In this regard, the US will cooperate with Azerbaijan very closely.
We have reached a number of agreements.” The official stated that
“several groups of the US experts” will visit Baku to consider the
possibility of Azerbaijan joining the G-8 club of industrialized
countries’ WMD non-proliferation initiative.
Editor’s Note: Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance journalist based
in Baku.

TURKISH COURT DROPS STATE SLANDER CHARGES AGAINST 4 JOURNALISTS
Chris Buell
JURIST
April 11 2006
[JURIST] A Turkish court on Tuesday dropped criminal charges against
four journalists over reports critical of a court opinion [JURIST
report] last fall, but the court upheld charges against a fifth
journalist. The court dismissed charges against the four because it
held that prosecutors failed to file charges within the two months
following publication of the stories. The court upheld charges against
Radikal columnist Murat Belge. Belge could face up to 10 years in
prison if convicted of the charge under Turkish Penal Code Article 301
[Amnesty International backgrounder], which criminalizes insulting
“state judicial institutions.”
The five journalists were accused [JURIST report] of publishing stories
critical of a court ruling that would have banned a conference on
Turkey’s involvement in the alleged genocide of its minority Armenian
population under the Ottoman Empire. Similar charges against novelist
Orhan Pamuk were dropped [JURIST report] earlier this year. Turkey
[JURIST news archive] has been under pressure from the EU to improve
its freedom of expression laws as part of its bid for EU membership.
/2006/04/turkish-court-drops-state-slander.php
From: Baghdasarian

INTERPARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS NORMALLY DEVELOP
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
April 11 2006
On April 11 Artur Baghdasaryan, RA NA Speaker received Tomasz Knothe,
Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Armenia.
Mr. Ambassador extended to the NA President the official invitation
to visit Poland. During the meeting both sides highlighted the
development of the Armenian-Polish interparliamentary relations, the
cooperation within the framework of EU New Neighbourhood programme,
the assistance to Armenia and the establishment of relations between
the regions of two countries. They also discussed issues concerning
the official visit of the Speaker of the Senate of Poland to Armenia.

GAZPROM TO CONTROL ARMROSGAZPROM, PIPELINE
New Europe, Greece
April 11 2006
Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom and the Armenian government have
signed a strategic agreement for 25 years, establishing the strategic
principles for cooperation in gas-energy projects in the republic,
the Russian company said in a statement. The agreement fixes the price
for Russian natural gas for Armenia at USD 110 per 1,000 cubic metres
until January 1, 2009. The document also deals with the acquisition by
ArmRosGazprom from the Armenian government of a 40-km section of the
Iran-Armenia pipeline, currently under construction, and the fifth
power-producing unit at Razdan thermal power plant.
Also, according to the agreement the Armenian government is obliged
to give ArmRosGazprom the function of client for the 197-km second
section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. Preliminary purchase and
sales agreements should be signed by April 14, 2006 and the final
transfer of right of ownership for these assets should be carried out
by January 1, 2007. “To ensure the effective conversion of natural
gas into electricity, the sides will join efforts to restore and
set up a technologically integrated property complex at Razdan-5,
with a single control centre, and also to build a gas turbine unit
with a capacity of 140 megawatts. These units will make it possible
to reduce fuel expenditure on electricity production. The agreement
also contains the possibility of exporting electricity produced at
Razdan-5,” the statement said.

NATO DOESN’T OBJECT TO RUSSIAN TROOPERS IN ARMENIA – OFFICIAL
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 11 2006
BAKU, April 11 (Itar-Tass) — NATO does not object to the deployment
of Russian forces in Armenia, special representative Robert Simmons
told a Tuesday press conference in Baku.
He said the alliance does not compete with Russia in the South Caucasus
and does not plan to interfere in regional conflicts. The conflicts
are being settled, and the alliance thinks that the sides are capable
of settlement, he said.
The NATO opinion of the Karabakh conflict is similar to that of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he said.
The deployment of peacekeeping forces is up to the sides, if Armenia
and Azerbaijan make this decision, he added. If they reach the
agreement and make the request to the alliance, NATO is ready to
discuss the deployment of peacekeepers, Simmons said.
Regional conflicts do not hamper NATO cooperation with South Caucasian
countries, he said, adding that settlement of the conflicts would
make the partnership more efficient.
Simmons described Azerbaijan as a leading regional partner to NATO and
said that both sides are interested in the development of cooperation,
which needs to be updated to modern realities, and related changes
need to be made in the Azerbaijan-NATO individual partnership plan.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR DISCUSSES KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 11 2006
BAKU, April 11 (Itar-Tass) – French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group
(MG) for Nagorno Karabakh Bernard Fassier said at a press conference
here on Tuesday that consultations held with the leadership of
Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Karabakh conflict settlement should
“help form the basic principles of the future peace agreement.”
The diplomat stressed that the work of international mediators will be
very intensive in the short run and said that after him the American
and Russian co-chairmen of the MG – Steven Mann and Yuri Merzlyakov
will visit the region. Fassier also did not rule out that he might
visit Baku and Yerevan again in late April.
“In May the co-chairmen will again visit the region in order to
prepare a meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia,”
said Fassier. “The dates of the meeting between the two countries’
leaders have not been coordinated yet, but I hope that they will agree
to hold them. New principles of the settlement are to be presented
to the heads of Azerbaijan and Armenia this week,” Fassier pointed out.
According to the official, these principles “contain variants that are
50 or even 80 percent meeting the interests of the sides.” He said
the current stage is a “continuation and modification of the Prague
process” that had been launched in the Czech capital two years ago
by the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers with the mediation
of the MG co-chairmen.
Fassier expressed regret over the fact that the work carried out by
the MG co-chairmen in 2005 has failed to bring the desired results,
although the settlements principles were determined. “In Rambouillet
(a Paris suburb where the last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
Presidents Ilkham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan was held on February
10-11, 2006) we tried to increase the results but unfortunately the
sides failed to reach agreement. However, we are glad that this did
not disrupted the negotiations and they are continuing,” the MG French
co-chairman said.
Fassier expressed concern over the aggravation of the situation
regarding the sides’ standoff recently saying that “the resumption
of the war will only aggravate it (the situation) and may result in
a crisis.”
After Baku Fassier is planning to visit Yerevan.
According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, issues related to the
Karabakh problem settlement will be high on the agenda of consultations
of the American co-chairman of the Minsk Group, Steven Mann in Baku on
April 18. Mann is expected to discuss with the Azerbaijani leadership
certain proposals of the American side on the conflict settlement.
“These proposals are very interesting. Official Baku will study them
and express its view during Mann’s visit,” the Azerbaijani foreign
minister said in an interview to the AzerTaj state news agency. In his
view, the Karabakh conflict is the “largest obstacle to the political
and economic development of Azerbaijan and it is necessary to intensify
efforts in this sphere.”

WITHOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 3 MAJOR ASPECTS THERE CAN BE NO DEVELOPMENT IN THE TURKISH – ARMENIAN RELATIONS – MURAT MERDJAN
Author: R. Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 11 2006
Without the implementation of the 3 major aspects there can be no
development in the Turkish – Armenian relations, the head of Turkish
parliamentary delegation to PACE, Murat Merjan told in interview to
the Trend correspondent.
These 3 major aspects include; resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict on acceptable for both sides’ conditions, resolution of
so-called Armenian genocide issue in the Ottoman times, and acceptation
by Armenia of existing borders according to the Karsk agreement.
“Without implementation of the given conditions, we can not speak
about the normalization of Turkish – Armenian relations,” he said,
adding opening of the Turkish – Armenian border also depends on these
3 aspects.

TURKEY REFUSES TO ACCEPT SWISS DEFENSE CONTRACT BID
United Press International
April 11 2006
ANKARA, Turkey — Ankara has barred a Swiss aircraft producer from
tendering for a contract to supply the Turkish Air Force with trainer
planes, citing political reasons.
Defense officials said Pilatus, a Stans-based manufacturer of small
aircraft, had been forbidden from bidding for the $500 million contract
because of a diplomatic row between the two countries, Turkish Daily
News reported.
“There is an understanding that Swiss bidders should not join Turkish
military contracts,” a senior official said. “We don’t think Swiss
contenders would be reliable partners in defense contracts.”
Bilateral relations between the two countries were severely strained
by the Swiss parliament’s 2003 adoption of a resolution condemning the
Ottoman Empire’s “genocide” of Armenians during the First World War.
A 1991 arms embargo on Turkey was lifted by Bern last year.
However, Ankara seems determined to keep the Swiss defense industry on
its red list. Turkey last year removed South Africa from its red list
of countries that cannot participate in defense procurement contracts,
while opening up towards European Union defense industries.
There are currently three international bidders involved in the
procurement of the jet trainers: Brazil’s Embraer, Korea Aerospace
Industries and U.S. company Raytheon.

NEW PRINCIPLES OF NK CONFLICT’ SETTLEMENT IS CONTINUATION OF PRAGUE PROCESS
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 11 2006
The process for settlement of the Karabakh conflict continues,
Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernar Fassier said at a press
conference today.
He also said that his visit to the region was agreed on by Azerbaijan
and Armenia’s leadership, and he will leave Baku for Yerevan.
After his trip there the co-chairmen will gather in Moscow to discuss
the results of their visits to the region, Fassier said, recalling that
the American and Russian cochairmen, Steven Mann and Yuri Merzliakov,
are also coming to the region.
The meetings must help to form the basic principles of a future
peaceful agreement, Fassier said. He said that their work would be
very intense, and in May they will again visit Baku and Yerevan for the
arrangement of a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan’s presidents.
“Then terms of meeting are not known, but I hope they will agree to
it. New principles of settlements will be submitted to the presidents,”
Fassier said.
According to him, there are some variants where the interest and
wishes of the sides have been taken into account by 50 and even 80
percent. He said that this meeting is a continuation and a changed
variant of the Prague process.
Fassier expressed concern however, because the work done in 2005 did
not have results, though principles of settlement were determined.
“In Ramboulliet we tried to multiply the obtained results, but
unfortunately could not reach an agreement. We are happy that it did
not bring a break in the talks, and that they continue,” Fassier said.
Fassier expressed concern about recent aggravation of the situation
on the front line, and said that resumption of war will worsen the
situation and could cause a crisis for “Azerbaijan’s prospering
economy”.
The Prague process provided for a stage by stage variant of the
conflict’s settlement: the Armenians must liberate occupied lands
around Karabakh and the refugees must return there; the opening of
communication between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the question on
Nagorno Karabakh’s status is to be solved later.