Council of Europe official arrives in Azerbaijan to discuss Karabakh
Azartac news agency, Baku
22 Aug 05
The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), Rene van der Linden, arrived in Baku on an official visit on
21 August.
Asked by our Azartac news agency correspondent about the purpose of
his visit at the Heydar Aliyev international airport, Rene van der
Linden said: “The South Caucasus is a priority region for the Council
of Europe. Processes under way here are constantly in the centre of
PACE attention. It is my duty as PACE president to gain an insight
into regional developments. I have visited Armenia and Georgia to this
end, and currently I am in Baku. I intend to hold a number of meetings
here and hold an exchange of opinions on the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and other issues and
to learn the position of Azerbaijani officials. You know that a
favourable situation has now developed for the resolution of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and we should take advantage of this and
achieve the resolution of the problem.”
The guest also answered other questions from journalists.
Meeting Rene van der Linden at the airport were the first deputy
chairman of the Milli Maclis [parliament], Arif Rahimzada, the head of
the executive staff of parliament, Safa Mirzayev, and other officials.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS RECEIVED SPIRITUAL AND ECUMENICAL GUESTS
His Holiness Aram I held a series of meetings with various spiritual and
secular guests on August 19.
The Primate of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Beirut, Metropolitan George
Saliba, visited His Holiness to give him a copy of a book about the Armenian
Genocide written in Arabic by an Syrian author.
He invited the Catholicos to the ceremonies to be held in Damascus next
month, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of
Patriarch Zakka Iwas I, Head of the Syrian Orthodox Church. His Holiness
assured that he will send a high-level delegation of Archbishops to attend
the ceremonies.
The deputy director of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Alain Balian, also
visited His Holiness Aram I. He informed the Catholicos about the activities
of the Central Bank and his efforts to involve Armenian employees in these
activities.
His Holiness praised the work carried out by Balian and stressed the
importance of placing Armenian employees in governmental posts and securing
the rights of the Armenian community.
His Holiness then received Arda Ekmekdji, the representative of the Armenian
Community in the 12 member committee for the formulation of a Lebanese
Election Law. Ekmekdji talked about the work carried our by the committee
till now.
His Holiness pointed out that he expects Ekmekdji to rightly represent the
Armenian Community’s viewpoints and rights in the committee. He stressed
that the 2000 electoral law should undergo necessary changes to allow wider
participation by the people and secure the internal unity of Lebanon’s
different communities.
The president of the Maronite League and former minister Michel Edde also
visited His Holiness. The two sides emphasized the importance of
inter-Christian cooperation during the meeting. They also discussed the
necessity of making a comprehensive list of the Lebanese Diaspora in order
to involve them in the electoral process.
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View picture here:
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The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
ECUMENICAL SEMINAR IN BIKFAYA
The members of ecumenical committees of the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s
various Dioceses participated in a one-day conference in Bikfaya on August
18. The conference was organized by the ecumenical relations committee of
the Catholicosate of Cilicia under the patronage of His Holiness Aram I.
Around 50 young men and women, who participate in several ecumenical
conferences and meetings by decision of their Dioceses or the Catholicosate
of Cilicia, participated in the conference from the various Dioceses in the
Middle East.
Bishop Nareg Alemezian, director of the Catholicosate’s ecumenical
department, delivered the opening remarks and welcomed the participants.
His Holiness then delivered his message to the participants, emphasizing the
Catholicosate of Cilicia’s insistence on delegating highly qualified
participants to ecumenical conferences and meetings.
“This is what has imposed respect towards our church and our seat in
general. Compared to others, we are a small church, but with our continuous
and high quality participation in ecumenical activities, we have brought an
important contribution to the movement’s mission and work,” said His
Holiness Aram I.
Nora Kabakian, the chairwoman of the committee, welcomed the participants
and called on them to make the conference a success through their
participation, exchange of views and experiences. She stressed the
importance of professionalism and self-preparation for a useful
participation in ecumenical conferences.
Bishop Alemezian then delivered a lecture on “The Catholicosate of Cilicia
and the ecumenical movement.” He pointed out that different approaches
should be adopted to involvement in the ecumenical movement on local,
regional and international levels.
Participants from different Dioceses talked about the conferences they have
attended during the last year and shared their experiences.
Teni Pirri Simonian, director of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC)
department for Church and Ecumenical Relations, then talked about the
challenges the WCC faces and talked about the 9th Assembly of the council,
to be held next year in Brazil.
Seta Khedeshian then talked about the Middle East Council of Churches and
the challenges it faces and Dr. Jan Salmanian delivered a lecture about the
Christian-Muslim Dialogue process and its current developmental phases.
Participants in the conference were given the chance to ask questions and
express viewpoints after each lecture. They later discussed the main
viewpoints expressed during the different sessions.
Bishop Alemezian praised the attendants and the level of their participation
at the end of the conference.
##
View pictures here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]:
PRESS RELEASE
19-08-2005
Minister Oskanian meets Armenian Teachers of Diaspora
On August 19, Minister Oskanian met with Armenian teachers of Diaspora,
participating in a one-month training program.
Welcoming more than sixty teachers from 10 countries, Minister emphasized
the vital role of this training program in strengthening the
Armenia-Diaspora ties and in solving pan-Armenian problems especially in
preserving the Armenian identity.
The teachers expressed their gratitude for the high level of the training
program and noted that knowledge obtained from the meetings with professors
and scholars will give new impetus for their further works.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Oskanian presented Armenia’s foreign
policy priorities.

Armenpress
MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI ARRIVES FOR UNOFFICIAL VISIT TO ARMENIA
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS: The president and defense minister of the
neighboring Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili and Irakly Okruahsvili, arrived in
Armenia on Sunday for a two-day unofficial visit to discuss with their
counterparts at Armenian president Robert Kocharian’s summer house near Lake
Sevan the situation in the South Caucasus and the state of things in
Georgia’s southern region of Javakheti with a predominant Armenian
population.
President Saakashvili arrived here by plane while Okruahsvili chose to
travel by car. This is the second such meeting of Kocharian and Saakashvili.
The first was held last April 1 at Georgia’s mountainous resort Gudauri
after which Georgia media quoted Saakashvili as saying that “We do not need
any ceremonies to meet one another. We can always visit each other without
prior preparations and hold talks and these are normal relations between
good neighbors.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenpress
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY COMMENDS ARGENTINA’S SENATE FOR RECONFIRMING
GENOCIDE CONDEMNING STATEMENT
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign ministry commended today
Argentina’s National Senate for its July 27 resolution that came to
reconfirm its previous resolution condemning the Armenian genocide committed
by the government of the Ottoman Turkey at the beginning of the 20-th
century.
Armenian foreign ministry said the July 27 resolution was the second such
resolution passed by the National Senate in 2005 coming after last April 20
statement that condemned Turkish authorities for their consistent denial of
the genocide.
The April 20 statement was retaliated by a Turkish note of protest that
described it as “irresponsible, ” but on May 5 the Turkish note was rejected
by Argentina’s lawmakers who said it was ‘groundless.”

International Journalists’ Network
Aug 22 2005
Azerbaijan broadcaster launches Armenian-language programs
Aug 21, 2005
Public TV and Radio (PTR), the new public broadcaster in Azerbaijan,
has announced plans to broadcast Armenian-language programs,
BakuToday.net reported.
This is the first time such programs have been made available to the
country’s Armenian population since Azerbaijan’s independence from
the Soviet Union.
`We will prepare these programs to keep the Azerbaijani citizens of
Armenian origin living in Karabakh informed about the processes taken
place in the country and call on them to peaceful coexistence in the
composition of Azerbaijan,’ said Ismayil Omarov, PTR’s director
general.
About 119,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan. Most of these Armenians
live in Nagorno-Karabakh – a breakaway republic supported by the
Armenian government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CENN – August 22, Daily Digest
Table of Contents:1.. Ecologists Alarmed By Perevoznaya Bay Pipeline
Project
2.. Saakashvili Look to 100.000 Armenian Tourists in Ajaria
3.. Millennium Challenges Account – Armenia Official Web-site Launched
4.. World Running Out of Time for Oil Alternatives
5.. German Biodiesel Sales Strong as Oil Prices Rise
6.. Call for Papers – International Symposium Towards Sustainable
Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mountainous Regions
7.. Third International Conference on Plants & Environmental Pollution
(ICPEP-3)
1. Ecologists Alarmed By Perevoznaya Bay Pipeline Project
Source: ITAR-TASS, August 5, 2005
Ecologists of the Far Eastern Primorye region are alarmed by the project
to build an oil pipeline from East Siberia to Perevoznaya Bay on the
Pacific Coast and propose to move the terminal to other bays of the
region.
The Fenix ecological organization began collecting signatures on Friday
under an address to the Transneft oil transportation monopoly calling to
“include into the feasibility study the possible impacts on the
environment”.
The address timed to the public hearings of the project scheduled for
August 15 also calls “to design and calculate the efficiency of
alternative variants giving priority attention to ecological safety
issues and economic efficiency for the budget of Primorye”.
Local scientists and ecologists fear the closeness of the oil terminal
in Berevoznaya Bay in the south of Primorye to three nature preserves
may trigger negative ecological consequences.
Experts of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
propose to build the terminal either in the Ussuri Bay or in the Bay of
Nakhodka which will be ecologically safer.
2. SAAKASHVILI LOOKS TO 100.000 ARMENIAN TOURISTS IN AJARIA
Source: AZG Armenian Daily #144, August 17, 2005
At the meeting with Armenian journalists holidaying in Batumi, Ajaria,
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili stated that around 100.000
Armenian citizens will spend their vacation in Ajaria in 2006. According
to Novosti agency, Saakashvili welcomed Armenian businessmen willing to
invest in hotel construction and tourism development in Ajaria. In 2005,
tens of thousands of Armenian citizens spent their holiday on the
seaside of Ajaria.
3. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT – ARMENIA OFFICIAL WEB-SITE
LAUNCHED
Source: ARKA, August 17, 2005
The official web-site () of the Board of Trustees of the
Armenian program of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) – Armenia has
been launched to provide publicity of development and realizations of
the projects, the press-service of the RA Ministry of Finance and
Economy reported to ARKA News Agency. The site contains general
information about Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia, as well as the
latest information on the program development. Special importance is
given to the coverage of negotiation process. The feedback is provided
through MCA-Armenia Forum
4. World Running Out of Time for Oil Alternatives
Source: Planet Ark, August 19, 2005
The world could run out of time to develop cleaner alternatives to oil
and other fossil fuels before depletion drives prices through the roof,
a leading Dutch energy researcher said on Thursday.
Ton Hoff, manager of the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, said
it could take decades to make alternatives affordable to the point where
they can be used widely, although high oil prices were already
stimulating such research.
“If we run out of fossil fuels — by the time the oil price hits 100
dollars or plus, people will be screaming for alternatives, but whether
they will be available at that moment of time — that’s my biggest
worry,” Hoff said.
“That’s why we need to use fossil fuels in a more efficient way to have
some more time to develop these alternatives up to a level where the
robustness is guaranteed and their price has come down … This could
take decades for some technologies.”
Stubbornly high oil prices have renewed worldwide interest in
sustainable energy sources, such as solar, wind and biomass as well as
biofuels.
But the world currently covers just some two percent of its energy needs
with renewable as high costs and mixed policy initiatives hinder a
widespread usage.
“The high oil price makes people at least think about alternatives …
For us it’s a definitely a stimulus to work even harder than before,”
Hoff said.
LOWERING COSTS
ECN, one of Europe’s leading energy research institutes, is working to
improve or develop new technologies to boost efficiency and lower the
costs of power production from wind, solar and biomass, he said.
ECN researchers are trying to raise the energy conversion efficiency of
solar panels to above 20 percent from the current 17 percent, while
reducing costs.
“In 10-15 years, I expect that solar energy conversion could be in
competition with electricity produced from coal,” Hoff said. He believes
the Netherlands has the potential to cover a large part of its power
needs with solar energy.
ECN is also researching to increase the size of wind power turbines from
the 3 megawatt a turbine produces now to 5 or 6 MW. This could be done
by raising the height to 100 metres from 70 now and enlarging wings span
to 120 metres from 90, he said.
ECN is also part of the $225 million “Global Climate and Energy Project”
led by the US University of Stanford and financed by General Electric,
Toyota, Schlumberger and ExxonMobil.
The project aims to crack new technologies on fuel cells, which make
electricity from hydrogen and emit only water vapour, energy production
from biomass and separation and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). The
greenhouse CO2 gas is released when burning fossil fuels and is blamed
for global warming.
Under the project, ECN will develop a new type of membrane reactor,
which will separate CO2 during the process of producing hydrogen from
fossil fuels, Hoff said. The CO2 could later be stored by companies in
depleted gas or oil fields.
Hoff and other researchers say a transition to the so-called hydrogen
economy could take decades as the cost of building new hydrogen-burning
cars and power plants and storing CO2 are huge.
To test hydrogen usage in real life, ECN is in talks with the northern
Dutch island of Texel to install hydrogen-based facilities, which would
supply electricity to homes and offices.
“The idea is to see the pitfalls, fix them … and prepare for the
future. My hopes are that this will stimulate the usage of this type of
new technology because it is extremely important to have it in real life
rather than in laboratories,” Hoff said.
5. German Biodiesel Sales Strong as Oil Prices Rise
Source: Planet Ark, August 19, 2005
German demand for biodiesel fuel made from rapeseed is rising as soaring
oil prices make vehicle operators seek alternatives, Germany’s biodiesel
industry association said on Thursday.
“Biodiesel demand has significantly increased in the past few months as
oil prices rose so high,” said Karin Retzlaff, of the association of
German biodiesel producers VDB.
There are no official sales statistics. “We have the impression sales
are growing especially in the trucking sector which is facing the double
impact of Germany’s new road toll and higher diesel prices,” Retzlaff
said.
“Trucking companies are under very heavy cost pressure and are looking
for quick methods of saving money.”
Biodiesel is 15 to 20 euro cents cheaper than conventional diesel,
largely because of special tax breaks granted by Germany’s government to
help the industry. The price difference has risen by about five euro
cents in past months as conventional fuel prices rose but biodiesel
remained unchanged.
German consumption this year was likely to rise to around 1.5 million
tones against 1.1 million tones in 2004 and only 720,000 tonnes in 2003,
association chairman Arnd von Wissel estimated.
Overall consumption was difficult to estimate as strong demand was
sucking in imports from neighboring countries and could be higher.
“If you are running fleets of thousands of trucks, savings of millions
can be made with biodiesel,” von Wissel said.
Farmers have also been turning to biodiesel following the loss of
special tax breaks for agricultural diesel.
But it is difficult for the German public to buy the fuel.
Many car manufacturers have technical doubts about the fuel, so it is
not sold in petrol stations run by the multinational oil companies.
Biodiesel blocks some exhaust dust filters, can break pipes and pumps
while it can freeze in Germany’s very cold winters.
The industry finds the technical objections exaggerated. “But this does
mean that private car consumption of biodiesel from petrol pumps will be
limited,” Retzlaff said.
However, millions of motorists are already using biodiesel without
knowing it. Since early 2004, Germany has permitted oil companies to mix
biodiesel with conventional fuels up to a maximum five percent biodiesel
content.
About half of German biodiesel is for blending with conventional diesel,
von Wissel estimated. Again no precise figures are available.
MORE EXPANSION PLANNED
German production capacity was likely to rise to around two million
tones annually in early 2006 against 1.2 million tonnes at the start of
2005, von Wissel said. The sector was currently working at full
capacity.
Most production plants are owned by agricultural cooperatives seeking
new markets for rapeseed, and other small companies.
But global agribusiness giants are also undertaking major biodiesel
projects in Germany. US group Cargill recently announced construction of
a production plant in Mainz in central Germany to be operational in
2006.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. of the US is doubling biodiesel production
capacity at its Oelmuhle Hamburg plant by the end of 2005.
6. CALL FOR PAPERS – INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOODS AND ECOSYSTEMS IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
Source: Mountain Forum – Global, August 19, 2005
The Uplands Program
Research for Sustainable Land Use and Rural
Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia
7-9 March 2006
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Organized by:
“The Uplands Program” (SFB564)
University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany)
Chiang Mai University (Thailand)
World Agroforestry Centre (Thailand)
Supported by: DFG – Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research
Foundation)
BACKGROUND
Mountainous regions cover more than one-fifth of the world’s landscape
and are home to more than 600 million people. They are of significant
importance for the global ecosystem and are characterized by a high
degree of ethnic, cultural and ecological diversity. High population
growth, political and social marginalization of mountain people, tenure
insecurity, and extraction of natural resources by a variety of actors
have increased the pressure on fragile mountainous areas. As a
consequence, we observe vicious circles of resource degradation of a
distinctly different nature: in more remote and subsistence oriented
areas farmers react to increasing pressure by shortening fallow periods
and cultivating steep hillsides resulting in erosion, loss of soil
fertility and decreasing agricultural productivity. In areas that are
closer linked to markets, farmers attempt to maintain agricultural
productivity by intensifying land use, employing increasing amounts of
fertilizer and pesticides, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and
contamination of water resources. At the same time, we observe that the
urban centers with dynamic trade and manufacturing sectors develop
rapidly, thus increasing the gap in living conditions between rural and
urban areas. To reverse these trends and to stop the downward spiral of
resource degradation, rural poverty and food insecurity, integrated
scientific analysis and new approaches to mountain development are
needed that identify sustainable agricultural practices, strengthen
local institutions and knowledge systems, and increase the resilience of
both mountain ecosystems and rural livelihoods.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the symposium is to bring together scholars and
practitioners to exchange both innovative multidisciplinary and
integrated research outcomes and successful extension and development
approaches. Another aim of the conference is to present and discuss the
research results of “The Uplands Program” and compare these with
experience and scientific analyses from other regions. Particular
emphasis will be given on research results and development experience
that make a significant contribution to
1. developing sustainable production and land use systems with increased
productivity in ecologically fragile, economically disadvantaged and
socio-culturally complex mountainous regions;
2. identifying viable concepts for rural institutions, food processing
and marketing that can
reduce rural poverty and food insecurity in mountainous areas; and
3. advancing methods for analyzing complex ecosystems and their
interactions with the sociocultural, economic and institutional
environment.
THEMES
. Mountainous Regions: A challenging ecosystem
– Sustainability concepts, research priorities and development
strategies for mountainous areas
– Comparative perspectives from mountainous areas in Asia, Africa and
Latin America
. Securing mountain livelihoods in a globalizing economy:
Options and strategies
– Viable conservation-oriented cropping strategies
– Integrated livestock and aquaculture systems
– Processing and marketing of high-value products
– Policies, institutions and social networks
– Payment for environmental services
– Alternative livelihood strategies
. Assessing and modeling complexity and diversity in mountainous areas
– Innovative methodological approaches
– Assessment of mountain agroecosystems
– Modeling land use changes and landscape dynamics
– Bridging local and scientific knowledge
– Multi-scale and multi-criteria analysis
These themes are still tentative. We particularly encourage the
submission of interdisciplinary and comparative contributions.
REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee is US-$150. A reduced early-bird-registration fee
of US-$120 is valid until
31 December 2005. A special rate of US-$ 75 will be charged for
participants from developing countries. The fee includes conference
material, refreshments, lunch for three days, a reception dinner and a
half-day mid-symposium excursion. Please note that the organizers cannot
provide funding for travel costs and accommodation of participants.
DATES AND DEADLINES
Submission of oral presentation/poster abstracts (1-2 pages): 15 October
2005
Notification of acceptance of oral presentation/poster abstracts: 15
November 2005
End of early-bird-registration (reduced fee): 31 December 2005
End of registration: 31 January 2006
Deadline for submission of final papers/posters: 15 February 2006
ORGANIZERS
Dr. Andreas Neef
Assist. Prof. Dr. Pittaya Sruamsiri
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
Hohenheim Office
Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Dr. David Thomas
World Agroforestry Centre
c/o Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Prof. Dr. Karl Stahr
Prof. Dr. Franz Heidhues
Dr. Jens Pape
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
University of Hohenheim (796)
70593 Stuttgart
Germany
SYMPOSIUM SECRETARIAT
The Uplands Program (SFB 564)
Hohenheim Office
Faculty of Agriculture
Chiang Mai University
Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Tel: +66-53-944647
Fax: +66-53-893099
E-mail: [email protected]
For further information see:
7. Third International Conference on PLANTS & ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION (ICPEP-3)
Source: Ecological North West Line (ENWL), August 12, 2005
29 November – 2 December 2005, Lucknow, India
This is to inform that International Society of Environmental Botanists,
India and National Botanical Research Institute of Government of India,
are jointly organizing Third International Conference on Plants &
Environmental Pollution (ICPEP-3) in Lucknow, India during 29 November
to 2 December 2005.
The Conference is Co-sponsored by International Union of Biological
Sciences (IUBS), Paris, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
(TWAS), Trieste, Italy, and UNESCO amongst others.
The Conference aims to provide an international forum for serious
scientific discussions and deliberations on the role of plants in
indication and bio-remediation of environmental pollution and related
areas such as bio-diversity conservation, sustainable development,
climate change, environmental pollution effects on agriculture, forestry
and human health.
The response from various regions of the Globe has been tremendous and
till now persons from more than 54 countries have pre-registered and
have expressed their desire to attend the conference.
The Conference will be an ideal platform for the scientists, botanists
and environmentalists of your region to communicate and to share
experiences on the critical issues of “Environment Pollution” and the
“Role of Plants in Indication, Monitoring and Containment of Pollution.”
The Call for Registration and Submission of Abstract has been issued and
the same as well as details about the Society can be seen at our Web
site –
Dr. K J Ahmad
Secretary,
International Society of Environmental Botanists,
National Botanical Research Institute,
Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow – 226001, India.
Phone: +91-522-2205831 to 35 ext 223
Fax: +91-522-2205836 / 2205839
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04
Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Moscow Times, Russia
Aug 22 2005
FSB Says Terrorists Are Trying to Secure WMD
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer
CIS security forces storming an oil tanker in Aktau, Kazakhstan,
during a counterterrorism exercise on Thursday.

Terrorist groups are making attempts to acquire weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear and biological weapons, Federal
Security Service director Nikolai Patrushev told colleagues from
other former Soviet republics on Friday.
“The terrorists are striving to obtain access to biological, nuclear
and chemical weapons. We record this, and we have such information,”
Patrushev said at a meeting with his counterparts from other
countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
“Our mission is to deny them such access,” Patrushev said at the
meeting in Aktau, Kazakhstan, which followed a counterterrorism
exercise in which CIS forces simulated the seizure of an oil tanker
by a terrorist group in the Caspian Sea.
Patrushev did not give any details about who had tried to acquire WMD
or when and where the attempts had taken place. Russia and the other
11 countries of the CIS were supposed to have destroyed their
biological weapons long ago in accordance with international
conventions.
The United States and several other countries have expressed worries
that terrorists could acquire nuclear, biological or chemical weapons
materials in Russia and other former Soviet republics.
Patrushev said the Federal Security Service, or FSB, was evaluating
security and accountability in the defense industry and other
enterprises that are or have been involved in the development and
production of WMD to ensure that they are impenetrable to terrorist
groups.

“We are really checking these enterprises and, as of today, we are
taking measures to eliminate those flaws that exist,” he said,
Interfax reported.
He said the FSB was focusing on preventive measures.
“At the moment, we evaluate the situation this way: Terrorists will
not get the weapons they’re striving for,” he said. “Nonetheless, in
light of the aim of terrorists to get access to weapons of mass
destruction, we must perfect this work.”
Earlier this summer, the chief of the Defense Ministry’s nuclear
safety and security department said there was a constant stream of
intelligence from the FSB indicating that terrorist groups were
developing plans to target the military’s nuclear arsenals. “We have
special information continuously coming from the Federal Security
Service on terrorist groups’ plans against our facilities,” Igor
Valynkin, head of the ministry’s 12th Main Directorate, said in June.
Patrushev’s comments came after Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev
threatened to stage new terrorist attacks and hinted that he might go
beyond conventional attacks. In an interview broadcast by the U.S.
television network ABC on July 28, Basayev vowed to “do everything
possible” to end the second Chechen war. Basayev had ordered
radioactive materials planted in Moscow and threatened to detonate
them to end the first Chechen war.
“I am trying not to cross the line. And so far, I have not crossed
it,” Basayev said in the interview, which was taped in late June.
Basayev has claimed responsibility for the Beslan school
hostage-taking, which killed more than 330 people, and scores of
other terrorist attacks.
During the first and second wars, Chechen rebels sought to acquire
radioactive and biological materials, plotted to hijack a nuclear
submarine and cased military nuclear installations.
While initially skeptical of the threat of WMD terrorism, Russian
authorities are increasingly acknowledging the imminence of the
menace and are working to safeguard nuclear, chemical and biological
substances at military and civil installations with financial and
technical assistance from the West.
One sign of this change in attitude is that the military and the FSB
are holding regular exercises in repelling possible terrorist attacks
on nuclear installations. The next CIS counterterrorism exercise will
focus on repelling an attack on a nuclear power plant and will take
place in Armenia in 2006, Patrushev said.
Patrushev also said the FSB had helped investigate violence in the
eastern Uzbek city of Andijan earlier this year.
He said the FSB had offered to assist in the London subway and bus
bombings but that the offer had been declined.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted Aug 22 2005
Azerbaijan will continue talks with Armenia – President
Baku, August 19, AssA-Irada
President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan will continue talks on
settling the Upper Garabagh conflict with Armenia. `As long as there
is hope, we should continue the negotiations.’
Aliyev said that the progress in talks achieved thus far is important
but provides no guarantees. `The parties still have serious
differences’, he said.
The President noted that the gist of the `Prague process’ is the
stage-by-stage conflict resolution, which envisions liberation of
occupied land first and then an accord between the two sides. Such
discussions may continue without any temporary restrictions, he said.
`In the conditions of globalization and enlargement of Europe,
separatism cannot exist. Armenia will face difficulties to live in a
modern world with this burden.’
Aliyev said that Armenia cites the safety of Armenian residents of
Upper Garabagh as the key issue in the talks, `but this cannot be at
the expense of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity’.*