US DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO HOST ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT CHAIRMAN
Armenpress
August 30, 2005
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: The US Embassy in Armenia said the
U.S. Department of State, via its International Visitor Program,
will host a series of meetings for National Assembly Chairman Artur
Baghdasaryan during the Washington, D.C. portion of his trip to the
United States from August 31 through September 7. During his visit,
Mr. Baghdasaryan will meet with U.S. government officials, as well
as with non-governmental organizations and media outlets.
The State Department has arranged meetings for Mr. Baghdasaryan
with Speaker of the House of Representatives J. Dennis Hastert
(Republican-Illinois), Democratic National Committee Chairman
Howard Dean, and Congressmen Knollenberg (R-MI) and Pallone (D-NJ)
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, as well as with
various high-level Department of State, National Security Council,
U.S. Agency for International Development and Millennium Challenge
Corporation officials. The State Department has also arranged for
Mr. Baghdasaryan to give a presentation at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) and to meet with the non-governmental
organization Transparency International.
Launched in 1940, the U.S. Department of State International Visitor
Program seeks to build mutual understanding between the United States
and other nations through carefully designed professional visits to
the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders. Through these
encounters, they gain a greater understanding of the cultural and
political society of the United States. Over 180 current and former
heads of government and state and many other distinguished world
leaders in the public and private sectors have participated in the
Department of State’s International Visitor Program. We are proud to
now have Mr. Baghdasaryan among the program’s alumni.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DAYS OF ITALIAN-ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP TO LAUNCH IN ARMENIA IN OCTOBER
Armenpress
August 30, 2005
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian told a news conference today that Days of Armenian-Italian
Friendship, initiated by two governments and sponsored by the
presidents of Italy and Armenia will be launched in Armenia in early
October and will run until the end of the year.
An extensive set of events includes display of exhibits from Saint
Lazarus Museum in Venice run by the Armenian Mkhetarist Congregation of
Armenian Catholics at Armenian National Picture Gallery, a conference
on Italian-Armenian historical and cultural relations, Days of Italian
Cinema, theater and music performances, photo and cuisine exhibitions
and other events.

NO IMPASSE IN NKR SETTLEMENT
By Tatoul Hakobian
AZG Armenian Daily #154, 31/08/2005
Karabakh issue
Vartan Oskanian, RA foreign minister, stated that “no breakthrough was
fixed” in the meeting of the presidents in Kazan, but “the negotiations
go on positively.” “The meeting in Kazan creates a field for the
meeting of the foreign ministers,” he said. Oskanian added that there
is no dead end in the process now, “one enters a dead end, when the
presidents find no terms,” while it didn’t happen. RA foreign minister
didn’t connect the negotiation process with the parliamentary elections
in Azerbaijan and the constitutional referendum in Armenia. “We are not
in the stage when we can inform the publicity about the details. The
sides are not apt to write down anything on the paper,” Oskanian said.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER POSITIVE ON KARABAKH TALKS IN KAZAN
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
30 Aug 05
[Presenter] No changes have been registered in the process of settling
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict during the meeting in Kazan, but there
is a positive development, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
has said, while commenting on the meeting between [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan and [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev.
The minister pointed out that the meeting created working conditions
for the foreign ministers to continue negotiations and, most
importantly, the foreign ministers of the two countries have not
reached the deadlock today. The Armenian foreign minister shied
away from reporting details of the negotiations process noting that
the sides have not yet reached the stage when the public should be
informed about the issue.
Oskanyan has also touched on the CIS summit and positively assessed
the meetings in Kazan.
[Oskanyan] We, the foreign ministers, have not reached the
deadlock. Given the results of the meetings between the presidents
of the two countries, we still have more tasks and we will try to do
everything in order to move forward. As for the CIS, we have never
said that the CIS is a productive working organization. Of course,
it has shortcomings and, therefore, issues of reforming the CIS are
being discussed today. However, it would be incorrect to assess this
situation as deadly. I think that we can again revive this organization
by reforms and economic developments.

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTER PESSIMISTIC ON CIS FUTURE
Ali Ahmadov, Emil Babaxanov, ANS.
ANS TV, Baku
28 Aug 05
[Presenter] Russia, which is considered Armenia’s strategic partner,
last week was forced to correct and change its policy with regard
to the countries, which once shared a similar position on the West’s
efforts to penetrate the post-Soviet countries. This is also explained
in Moscow by the fact that Russia, which put on the back burner such
a global issue as the strengthening of the CIS, wants to recover
its reputation which it has lost as a result of orange revolutions
[in the post-Soviet area].
Russia’s official circles say with full confidence that the Kremlin
has already lost the post-Soviet area and that it is high time to make
drastic changes in this area. For this reason, Moscow has decided to
make public its new policy at the reformist CIS summit in Kazan. The
Kazan summit was to define if there was a room for Russia and its
reforms in the post-Soviet area, and Russia did so.
[Correspondent, over video of summit] It was clear even before the
summit that the CIS had problems. Maybe, the Moscow meeting of the
foreign ministers of the CIS countries ended so unsuccessfully for
the first time. The ministers who were preparing for the meeting
of presidents, failed to agree on the summit’s final document and
its agenda.
[Passage omitted: more details about tasks of the summit]
Some CIS member countries did not sign many of the documents submitted
for discussion and agreed to sign the others on certain conditions. The
Baku government was also among those offering its own conditions.
[Head of the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani
presidential administration Novruz Mammadov] Taking into account
its national and state interests, Azerbaijan has not signed many
of the adopted agreements. It signed some of them with special
proviso. Azerbaijan did not sign the documents about the establishment
of structures which might have threatened Azerbaijan’s independence
to some extent.
[Correspondent] Other documents which our country joined were full of
provisos. Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Xalaf Xalafov said that
Azerbaijan signed an agreement on humanitarian cooperation on proviso
that the agreement should be implemented in line with the Azerbaijani
Constitution and laws. Otherwise, it would not implemented. The Baku
government also refused to apply common education standards in the
CIS under this document.
The CIS leadership also wanted to make appraisals and confer scientific
degrees on people in the CIS area. That is Moscow was to decide who
would gain a scientific degree. Azerbaijan also denied the idea of
creating a common information space. Had the Baku government entered
the area, any CIS country, including Armenia, would have got any piece
of information in Azerbaijan, familiarized itself with systems here and
finally, distributed its information in Azerbaijan without obstacle.
Apart from Azerbaijan, its partners in the GUAM – Georgia, Ukraine
and Moldova – signed the agreement on humanitarian cooperation with
proviso. Azerbaijan and its partners in the GUAM have cautiously
signed the documents on terrorism and illegal migration which at
first sight seem to be harmless, but also important. For instance,
Baku wanted that the document also stressed the importance of the
fight against separatism along with extremism.
It is interesting that the CIS countries could have started freely
launching armed operations on territories of other countries on the
pretext of the fight against terrorism, had they adopted the document
as it was. The Baku government and its allies in the GUAM have denied
such dangerous assistance. Azerbaijan did not also sign a document
on common borders and military cooperation in the CIS.
[Passage omitted: the future of the CIS is vague]
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov admitted that he often
asked his older counterparts’ opinions about the fate of the CIS.
[Mammadyarov] It is difficult to say how its future will be. Countries
view the CIS in a different way. How the CIS will develop or will it
develop is under a big question mark.
The issue has reached such a point that during the summit some
countries, including Azerbaijan, have not signed the document on
marking 2006 as the year of CIS. Baku believes that holding such
events on a bilateral format is enough.
[Passage omitted: the CIS is gradually losing its reputation]

AZERI TV PRESENTS BOOK ABOUT KARABAKH
Lider TV, Baku
29 Aug 05
The Azerbaijani commercial TV station Lider presented a new book
entitled “Qarabag” (“Karabakh”) on its “After the Voice” programme
on 29 August.
This book will help counter Armenia’s anti-Azerbaijani propaganda in
the world, the programme noted.
No further processing is planned.

NORWAY TO INVEST $10 MILLION IN SOUTH CAUCASUS
Armenpress
August 30, 2005
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: Foreign minister Vartan Oskanian
received today Norway’s State Secretary Kim Trovick and discussed
with him Armenian-Norwegian relations, highlighting his government’s
readiness to deepen these relations, saying also high-level bilateral
contacts are one way to do so.
The Norwegian minister spoke about a $10 million worth investment
project Norway wants to carry out in the South Caucasus together
with UNDP in 2005-2007. Oskanian also briefed Kim Trovick on Karabakh
issue and Turkish-Armenian relations.

RA PRIME-MINISTER RECEIVES ARGENTINEAN FOREIGN MINISTER
ARKA News Agency
Aug 30 2005
YEREVAN, August 30. /ARKA/. RA Prime-Minister Andranik Margaryan
received Minister of Foreign Affairs and International relations of
Argentine Rafael Antonio Bielsa, press-service of the RA Government
reports. They discussed the issues of Armenian-Argentinean relations
and pointed out that the absence of political problems between the two
countries will undoubtedly promote bilateral cooperation. The sides
also expressed their satisfaction with bilateral cooperation within
the UN and various international organizations. Margaryan expressed his
gratitude to the Argentinean FM for support in adopting the resolution
“On Prevention and Punishment of Genocide” Armenia submitted to the
57th meeting of the UN Committee on Human Rights. He also expressed
his gratitude to the Senate of Argentine for adopting a resolution,
which condemns the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
Margaryan and Bielsa expressed their satisfaction with development of
trade and economic relations between Armenia and Argentine. Bielsa
pointed out that trade turnover between the two countries can be
doubled in the near future, taking into account implementation of
the large-scale program of the “Zvartnots” Airport modernization,
which will promote expansion of Argentine’s economic interests in
Armenia and in the region as well. As the first step in this direction
the sides pointed to the signed agreement on joint management of the
“Zvartnots” Airport between the “Corporasion America” consortium in
the person of Company’s Director Eduard Ernekyan and the RA Government.
On December 18, 2001 the RA Government signed an agreement with
“Corporasion America” Company belonged to E. Ernekyan on managing the
“Zvartnots” Airport for 30 years. A.A.

ARMENIAN PREMIER TO LEAD ARMENIAN DELEGATION AT 60TH MEETING OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ARKA News Agency
Aug 30 2005
YEREVAN, August 30. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan is
to lead the Armenian delegation at the 60th meeting of the UN General
Assembly in New York, USA RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan told
a press conference. He pointed out that the meeting will focus
on UN reforms. According to him, the RA Prime Minister and the
RA Foreign Minister are to make speeches at the meeting. “Armenia
support comprehensive reforms of the UN, which includes issues of
expansion of the UN Security Council. In this respect Armenia support
permanent and non-permanent membership, but at the same time believes
that such important changes must only be made with the consent of the
overwhelming majority of the UN member-states, without any compulsion,”
Oskanyan said. P.T.

3,165 MISSING INDIVIDUALS FROM BOTH SIDES DURING NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT CURRENTLY INCLUDED IN UPDATED LIST
ARKA News Agency
Aug 30 2005
YEREVAN, August 30. /ARKA/. A total of 3,165 missing individuals
from both sides during the Nagorno Karabakh conflict are currently
included in the updated list, press-service of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported ARKA News Agency. According
to press-release, this list was given to the authorities of Armenia,
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan in February, 2004. The ICRC continues
its support to both sides of Nagorno Karabakh conflict in their search
for the missed citizens. In January, 2005 the ICRC called on conflict
sides to find out the fate of the missed individuals and proposed
a special plan for receiving the information about them. The ICRC
will continue receive applications from the families of dismissed
individuals in 2006, when the collection of personal data is expected
to start. The ICRC is an organization which main activity is the search
of dismissed people during the war or internal collisions. The staff
of the ICRC also visited 570,000 prisoners in 2004; they registered
data about them to be able to follow their fate during their term of
imprisonment. A.A.