Interfax Russia, Russia
Aug 24 2005

Experts predict fruitless summit on Nagorno-Karabakh
YEREVAN. Aug 24 (Interfax) – Two Armenian analysts believe the
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit this month will bring no progress toward
a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, while international
mediators have repeatedly said there is now a unique opportunity for
a settlement.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev will meet during the Commonwealth of Independent States summit
in Kazan.
“The Kocharian-Aliyev meeting in Kazan is rather a result of the CIS
meeting of heads of state, within whose framework negotiations
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents have become a
tradition, and one can’t expect the planned negotiations on a
Karabakh settlement to bring any breakthrough results,” Alexander
Iskandarian, deputy director of the Caucasus Institute for Mass
Communication Media, told Interfax.

Azerbaijan News Service
Aug 24 2005
CAPTIVE AZERBAIJANI ENSIGN RETURNED
2005-08-24 20:44
The Armenian side delivered on 24 August the Azerbaijani military
serviceman Ramil Khudaverdiyev, detained earlier this month, reported
Baku representative office of the International Red Cross Committee
(IRCC). The delivery took place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
between Tavush and Gazakh regions. IRCC took part in this process as
the neutral mediator based on the appeals of the relevant bodies of
the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The report notes, to be
sure the military wants to come back home the IRCC representatives
met with him prior to delivery.

Azerbaijan News Service
Aug 24 2005
ELMAR MAMMADYAROV IS OPTIMISTIC ON MEETING WITH VARDAN OSKANYAN
2005-08-24 11:15
Azeri Foreign Affairs Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told ANS that He had
an unofficial meeting with Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan on
Aug 23, in Moscow. The Ministers exchanged views on today’s Meeting.
Talking about today’s negotiations, Elmar Mammadyarov said
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is the main factor of negotiation
process. `We are ready to negotiations. In certain issues SOME mutual
understanding is observed. Besides in some details negotiations
should be continued. If Armenia is ready to accept Azerbaijan’s all
proposals, this case progress will be guaranteed in negotiation
process’, said Elmar Mammadyarov. Talking about OSCE Co -Chairs Elmar
Mammadyarov said that Co-Chairs from the United States, Russia and
France have strengthened their activities and continuously make
difficult compromise proposals to discuss. Hr added that the status
of Daghlig Garabagh must be defined within territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. `But we think there are different settlement ways to
solve the problem. That’s why dialogue should be continued in that
direction. We approach to solution of the Problem from conceptual
viewpoint. The whole idea is that we must find a way where
Azerbaijanis and Armenians could live in peace within a small area.
Sooner this way is found, more rapidly our states would grow. The
Conflict undermines the progress of our countries. We should be
guided by the ongoing processes in the world and look into the future
‘, said Azeri M. F. A. `Now it is too early to talk on detaols. As my
Azeri counterpart said, we will continue the negotiations to prepare
foe Kazan meeting of the presidents’, said VardanOskanyan. OSCE Minsk
Group is also expected to take part in the today’s meeting. Ministers
will exchange opinions on unresolved problems, and will make
preparation ahead of the meeting between the presidents- Ilham Aliev
and Robert Kocharyan to held on August 26, in Kazan, Russia, within
the summit of Heads of CIS states. After Moscow meeting Elmar
Mammadyarov will make reports to Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham
Aliev about the results.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 24 2005
Expert says breakthroughs unlikely at Kocharyan-Aliyev summit

MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti, Andrei Malyshkin) – No breakthrough
agreements should be expected from the Armenian-Azerbaijani
presidential summit August 27, a leading Russian political analyst
said Wednesday.
Konstantin Zatulin, the Director of Russia’s Institute for CIS
Studies and a member of the CIS affairs committee in the State Duma,
parliament’s lower house, said it is highly unlikely that the
upcoming meeting between Armenia’s Robert Kocharyan and Azerbaijan’s
Ilham Aliyev in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, will resolve
problems that have been plaguing the two countries’ relations for
years.
“There have been all kinds of problems arising at meetings between
Armenia and Azerbaijan at various levels-there was a time when the
president of Azerbaijan would ostentatiously refuse to meet with the
president of Armenia-[so] the mere fact that such a meeting [is
taking place] is good news,” Zatulin said.
But he said he did not see any prerequisites for diplomatic progress
in solving problems that had accumulated between the two countries
over the years, most notably the long-standing dispute over Nagorny
Karabakh, a region inside Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic
Armenian population.
Asked whether he thought the redeployment of personnel from the
Russian military bases in Georgia to Gyumri, in Armenia, could help
resolve the Karabakh conflict, Zatulin said Azerbaijan was using the
issue to once again accuse Russia and Armenia of conspiring against
it. “The Armenia-Russia relationship is one of a common defense and I
think [officials] in Azerbaijan should realize that,” he said.

BBC Sport, UK
Aug 24 2005
Darchinyan keeps flyweight crown

Vic Darchinyan lands a right cross on the chin of Jair Jiminez
Australia’s Vic Darchinyan retained his IBF flyweight title with a
fifth-round stoppage of Jair Jiminez at the Sydney Entertainment
Center on Wednesday.
Darchinyan sent Jiminez to the canvas early in the fourth and
pummelled the Colombian for the rest of the round.
At the time of the stoppage, Darchinyan led by five points on two
judges’ cards and six points on the other.
Armenian-born Darchinyan was making the second defence of the title
he won from Irene Pacheco last December.

Australian, Australia
Aug 24 2005
Darchinyan retains titles
By Adrian Warren
August 24, 2005
VIC Darchinyan has retained the International Boxing Federation (IBF)
flyweight world title with a crushing fifth-round technical knockout
over Columbian challenger Jair Jiminez.
Darchinyan, who also retained the less prestigious International
Boxing Organisation flyweight world title, outclassed and outgunned a
game challenger, who absorbed tremendous punishment at the Sydney
Entertainment Centre.
The 29-year-old champion consistently hit the target with hurtful
straight left punches to the head, and let rip to the body.
Jiminez, 26, was almost too brave for his own good, especially in the
fourth round.
A relentless Darchinyan sent the South American to the canvas in the
first 20 seconds of the fourth with a volley of at least five blows.
Sensing an early finish, the Armenian-born champion pummelled his
opponent for the final 60 seconds of the round.
The one-sided fight followed a similar pattern in the fifth round
before Australian referee John Wright called a halt.
At the time of the stoppage, Darchinyan led by five points on two of
the judge’s cards and six points on the other.
Darchinyan is now undefeated in 24 professional fights, with 19 wins
by knockout.
Jiminez’s record dropped to 22 wins, five losses and one draw.
“He’s a tough guy, he took a lot of punches,” Darchinyan said.
Darchinyan was making his second defence of the IBF title he won last
December, from another Columbian, Irene Pacheco.
His victory ended a run of successive world title fight losses
inflicted upon Australians Anthony Mundine, Paul Briggs, Kostya Tszyu
and Tommy Browne.
Darchinyan said his coming options included a mandatory IBF title
defence against Irishman Damaen Kelly, and a unification bout with
World Boxing Association (WBA) title-holder Lorenzo Parra of
Venezuela.
Trainer Jeff Fenech hailed his fighter’s performance, saying it
underlined Darchinyan’s status as one of the world’s finest
flyweights.
Living up to his nickname of ‘The Raging Bull’, Darchinyan pawed at
the canvas with his boot as he waited for the bout to start.
As expected, Jiminez tried to take the fight to the Australian, but
his forward lunges proved ineffective and he landed few meaningful
blows on the champion.
The Australian peppered the challenger with straight lefts throughout
the first round and in the second, alternated his left hand attack
between head and body.
He wobbled the outclassed Colombian in the latter stages of the third
before escalating his assault even further in the fourth.
“From the second round, I felt I could stop him, I didn’t know how
long it would go,” Darchinyan said.
“I felt good, I had good power and I stopped him, like I said I would
at the press conference.”
Darchinyan said he would head to Armenia for a two-week holiday on
September 5 before returning to Australia to finalise the date of his
wedding to his fiancee, Olga.
The five-bout card produced plenty of action, but less than 14 full
rounds.
Unbeaten Australians Billy Dib and Ahmed Elomar each scored easy
second-round stoppage wins over outclassed opponents in IBO Asia
Pacific title fights.
Featherweight Elomar improved his professional log to 9-0 by winning
the vacant title against Thai Donchai Tiabkoon, while Dib extended
his record to 7-0 by winning the vacant junior lightweight crown
against Ugandan Michael Kizza.

Australian, Australia
Aug 25 2005
Darchinyan unleashes fistic fury
Peter Kogoy
August 25, 2005
SOUTHPAW Vic Darchinyan last night retained his IBF and IBO flyweight
titles with a fifth-round TKO of Colombia’s Jair Jimenez in Sydney.
Darchinyan was on top from the opening bell, showing his array of
punching power to wear down a brave Jimenez.
Referee John Wright called a halt to the fight 2min 23sec into the
fifth round.
The Armenian-born Darchinyan’s win took his record since turning
professional in 2000 to 24-0, 19 by knockout.
“I said before the fight that I had the body punches to beat him,”
Darchinyan said.
“Jimenez was brave and tough, but tonight I showed that I am a true
champion. Mentally I came prepared, but it was still a tough fight
because I had been out of the ring for four, five months, a long time
for a fighter.”
Trainer Jeff Fenech said Darchinyan would have a holiday in Armenia
then come back to train for a mandatory defence of his titles against
Irishman Damaen Kelly.”
The fight must be held in the next three months.
Earlier, Billy Dib, who turned 20 three days ago, showed his
potential with a second-round knockout of Uganda’s Michael Kizza to
retain the IBO Asia Pacific junior-lightweight title.
A protege of English superstar Prince Naseem Hamed, with whom he has
trained for the past six months after turning professional a year
ago, Dib was never troubled by the more experienced Kizza.
Dib’s win took his unbeaten record to 7-0 with five knockouts.
“I thought Kizza would give me a tougher fight,” Dib said.
“This win tonight has proved to me that I believe I can go all the
way and be a worthy world champion. I reckon the sky is the limit.”
Dib has the firepower in both fists to carry him a long way.
Fenech said Dib, from Sydney’s south is, “arguably the best prospect
to emerge in years”.
Dib attacked Kizza from the opening bell, sending the African
champion to the canvas midway through the first round with referee
Craig Waller ordering a mandatory eight count.
With Dib landing a flurry of straight jabs, only the bell saved Kizza
from ending his night there and then. As it was, Kizza didn’t last
much longer as Dib found his range and timing to send him to the
canvas with a thundering combination of left jabs and a fearsome
overhead right.
Ahmed Elomar, 22, claimed the vacant IBO Asia Pacific featherweight
belt with a second-round knockout of Thai Denchai Tiabkoon.
“I was expecting a longer fight. I didn’t expect it to be this
easy,” Elomar, of Sydney, said, before issuing a challenge to
Australian title-holder Tommy Browne.
“They say he’s the best in this country, well I’ve got news for him.
I want to be the best.”

Xinhua, China
Aug 24 2005
Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs wish for Nagorno-Karabakh settlement

2005-08-25 01:58:24
MOSCOW, Aug. 24 (Xinhuanet) — Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov were
hopeful Wednesday of progress in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict after a day of discussions in Moscow.
“There is hope that we’ll find common denominators, which
wouldbring peace and stability to southern Caucasus,” Oskanyan told
theItar-Tass news agency.
Self-determination is the priority in settling the conflict of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which also requires attention to some other issues
such as elimination of the consequences of the conflict, the
territorial issue and the return of refugees.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave now
controlled by Armenia. Azerbaijan lost control of the region
following an armed conflict with Armenia in the 1990s.
Mamedyarov spoke positively of the Moscow meeting but said it is
premature to talk about any headway in resolving the conflict.
It is necessary to actively work on the settlement and there isan
opportunity “to arrive at a common denominator for this problem,”
Mamedyarov said.
Wednesday’s meeting gathered the foreign ministers of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia as well as representatives of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe and was meant to pave the way
for the meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan later this
week, when leaders of former Soviet republics will gather in the
Volga River city of Kazan for a summit meeting.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the start of
themeeting that Russia hopes progress will be made in negotiations
over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in
1991 and involved Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and Kazakhstan. Enditem

AKI, Italy
Aug 24 2005
TURKEY: NEW DATE SET FOR CONTROVERSIAL ARMENIAN CONFERENCE

Istanbul, 24 August (AKI) – A new date has been set for a conference
questioning Turkey’s official policy that the 1915-21 mass killing of
Armenians under Ottoman rule never took place. The conference,
initially scheduled for May, but postponed after Turkish justice
minister branded it “a dagger in the back of the the Turkish people,”
will be held at Istanbul’s Bogazici University, on September 23-25.
On Wednesday there were conflicting reports on whether Turkish
foreign minister Abdullah Gul would open the conference, entitled
‘Ottoman Era Armenians During the Collapse of the Empire:
Intellectual Responsibility and Democratic Problems’.
Bogazici University Rector Ayse Soysal has invited Gul and, according
to some reports the minister accepted the invitiation, but others
said the foreign ministry had indicated Gul would not be present
because of official commitments abroad.
Lasting two days, with 12 sessions, and featuring the participation
of 38 academics, the conference will have panels discussing topics
such as ‘Deportation and Massacre’, ‘Disaster and Rescue Stories’,
‘Memories and Witnesses’, and ‘Things the World Knew that Turkey did
not Know’.
When the conference was first slated, it provoked outrage among
Turkish nationalists, especially after some would-be participants
said they would challenge the commonly held view in Turkey that the
deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians was due to epidemics and
other hardships suffered when Armenian militants, who joined sides
with Turkey’s World War I enemy Russia, were deported and forced on
long marches.
Many historians believe that the Armenian deaths were due to the
genocide policies of the Ottoman rulers.
;loid=8.0.200442014&par

Azeri, Armenian presidents not to sign any documents in Kazan – minister
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
24 Aug 05
[Presenter] Talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem are now coming to an
end. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen are attending the talks. The
ministers mainly focused on preparations for a meeting in Kazan
between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian
counterpart, Robert Kocharyan.
[Correspondent over video of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov] The Moscow-hosted meeting between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers discussed the agenda of the Kazan talks.
Before the me eting today, the ministers and the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen expressed the hope that the sides will soften their
positions.
Foreign Minister Mammadyarov stated once again that Baku’s position on
the Nagornyy Karabakh problem remains unchanged. He said that the
status of Karabakh can only be resolved with respect for Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity.
The minister added that the sides are trying to achieve some agreement
on this issue.
Mammadyarov said this is the first time the talks also discussed a
referendum on the status of Nagornyy Karabakh, Armenian [as heard,
actually Russian] news agency Regnum said. The shape or form of the
referendum was another topic of the discussion.
The minister expressed the hope that the talks would continue within
the framework of the Prague process and stressed that it is not worth
expecting a sensational result from the presidents’ meeting in
Kazan. He said that no document would be signed as a result of the
meeting.
[Passage omitted: reported details]