Putin to visit Armenia

Ros Business Consulting, Russia
March 22 2005

MOSCOW. March 22 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will
pay a working visit to Armenia on March 24-25 to attend a ceremony
that will open the Year of Russia in Armenia, the presidential press
service said.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
March 22 2005

There she is — Miss Armenia

Glendale’s Silva Yesayan will compete in the Miss Asia USA pageant

April 23 at the Alex Theatre.
By Ryan Carter, News-Press and Leader

The beauty in a Pasadena car showroom didn’t come from the lines of
a fancy Jaguar or Porsche. It came from all over Asia, and Glendale.

Beautiful women representing countries from throughout Asia mingled
with about 90 guests, snacked on truffles and salad and listened to
jazz Saturday in the Rusnak Jaguar showroom in Pasadena.

Silva Yesayan of Glendale is Miss Armenia. The Glendale Community
College student won the event’s “Miss Rusnak Jaguar Queen for the Day”
award. Others represented Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand,
Iraq and Iran.

The event Saturday was to support the Miss Asia USA 2005 pageant,
which for the second time in its 17-year history will be in Glendale
on April 23 at the Alex Theatre. Twenty-five women who attended
the event Saturday will vie to become Miss Asia USA, ambassador for
culture and goodwill for the Asian American community.

“I was in shock,” Yesayan said of being queen for the day. “I
didn’t know I would be the one. I didn’t know to go up or sit down.
Everything came out perfect.”

The women brought smiles to the faces of guests, who included City
Councilman Dave Weaver, a member of the Miss Asia USA organizing
committee, said Liz Rusnak Arizmendi, spokeswoman for the Rusnak
Automotive Group, a sponsor of Miss Asia USA.

“It was an intelligent, beautiful, well-spoken, articulate group of
young women,” Rusnak Arizmendi said. “It was a fun way of interacting
with these gorgeous creatures.”

Miss Iraq, Carol Safa Nasi, is from Glendale, and Miss Philippines,
Jennifer Ball, is from Burbank, said Virgelia Villegas, Miss Asia
USA’s chairwoman.

Organizers are still looking for women to participate in the pageant
to round out representation from 50 Asian countries.

They are looking for women between 17 and 28 who have never been
married, who have never had children and have a pleasing personality.
There is no height requirement. A minimum 25% ancestry from an Asian
nation is required.

“We look at internal beauty and rally for that instead of outside
beauty,” Villegas said.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (E.)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

March 22, 2005
___________________

THE EASTER MESSAGE OF ARCHBISHOP KHAJAG BARSAMIAN
Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America

TO LIVE IS CHRIST

For I know that through your prayers, and the help of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is
my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed,
but that with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored in
my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:19-21)

* * *

FROM PRISON THE APOSTLE PAUL wrote those lines, as he awaited almost
certain execution. Surely one senses his apprehension beneath the
words. He is not a fanatic, who would seek death out as a worshipper
pursuing an idol. To the contrary, like our Lord before him during
His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the apostle does not relish the
prospect of death, because he knows that life is dear. But at the same
time, the question of whether he will live or die is not uppermost in
his thoughts. He can find the courage to write, “to die is gain,”
because he trusts that his killers will not have the final say.
The power they hold over him may be real, and consequential. But it
is not final.

But if to die is gain, then what shall he call “to live”? One can
sense St. Paul grasping for the right word to convey life’s splendor,
its preciousness, its inherent quality of hope. If to die is gain,
then to live? To live is…

“To live is Christ.” That is the way a man facing death resolved to
put it. Admittedly, it is a curious formulation–almost jarring to the
ear. We should not pretend to fully understand his meaning. Yet we
can observe that it is congruent with much else in Christianity: with
our Lord’s testimony, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”; with the
epithet “Lord of Life” applied to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The entire Christian story, it would seem, is an affirmation of life.

And so it is a puzzle that this same God, this Lord of Life, chose
to subject Himself to death. The paradox is concisely expressed in
an Armenian hymn, Miadzin Vorti: “You, the unchangeable One, became
man and you were crucified, O Christ our God: you trampled down Death
by death.”

The cause, of course, was a great one: the salvation of mankind.
But let us not doubt that things could have been otherwise.
God could have chosen to effect salvation through some means other
than His own death. He chose not to. Armenian Christians should
be clear on this point: Our church does not regard the shedding of
His blood as a necessary condition of salvation, in the manner of
other Christian denominations. We do not conceive of Christ as some
kind of human sacrifice or scapegoat, whose humiliation and death
“purchased” salvation for mankind. We stress the free choice of
God: His willingness to enter into human history. To take on the
infirmities of the human condition: its weakness and vulnerability;
its mortality. To do this out of love for His creations, in a divine
act of solidarity.

Singing Miadzin Vorti should remind us that God could have simply
trampled death–period. But He chose instead to trample it with
death–to subject Himself to the thing He sought to correct–thus not
merely correcting the problem, but affirming the very human condition
which had to endure such suffering in the first place. We might say
that Christ’s death was God’s way of standing shoulder-to-shoulder
with all the deaths that had gone before. And of anticipating all
those that would come after.

It is an especially poignant thought for us this Easter–ninety years
after the greatest conflagration of death our people have ever known.
Knowingly or unknowingly, the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey in the
days prior to April 24, 1915, were in the same position as St.
Paul: captives awaiting death at the hands of unjust powers.
Unlike Paul, most of them were denied the chance even to scrawl
a final few words from a prison cell. So we cannot say that they
all met their fates with the same con-scious-ness as Paul, or even
with the same faith. Our enemy made no discrim-ination between the
believer and non-believer; all were killed, simply for being Armenian.
So we cannot say they were all martyrs, in the sacramental sense of
that word. But then again, who are we to say whether they have not
all been sanc-tified? To paraphrase the noble words uttered over a
different spectacle of death: Their ordeal has sanctified them far
beyond our own poor powers of recognition.

What we can recognize, as we experience Easter from the perspective of
this solemn milestone, is this: That the scars we still bear today, the
losses we have endured–whether inflicted ninety years ago, twenty-five
years, ten, or even last night–Christ has borne before us. Borne them
in anticipation of our own afflictions. Borne them out of His love
for us, to show He abides with us, in triumph as well as tragedy.

Borne, above all, to assure us that affliction is not the End.
There is a final act, not yet performed, but written nonetheless,
awaiting its consummation at the true end of things–which itself
will be only the beginning of something new. When that day arrives,
we can be sure that something of our past affliction will still be
with us, even as our Lord’s wounds remained visible, tangible, after
His return to life. But we will be made new: Not so much reborn,
as made whole again. Whole in our bodies and spirits; whole–we
are permitted to hope, and obliged to pray–in our relationships
with others, too. Reunited with those we have lost along the way.
Reunited with those we never knew, but to whom we owe our existence.
Reunited with those who are, from our perspective now, still yet to be.

All of us, reunited in the bosom of our Lord. Even if such a reunion
were only a dream, men would hardly be fools to long for it. But we
have been promised, and shown, that it is not a dream, but rather a
hope: the secret culmination of human existence. That is the hope
which Easter eternally represents. We can enter upon it, if we
so choose. And Jesus Christ is our doorway.

It was with his eye on that hope that St. Paul was able to face the
prospect of imprisonment, injustice, even death. It is our hope,
too: our hope for ourselves, to be sure; but more than that, our hope
for those countless Armenian souls who perished ninety years ago.
Let us carry that prayer in our hearts this Easter, as we affirm:

Krisdos haryav ee merelotz. Orhnyal eh harootiunun Krisdosee.
Christ is risen from the dead. Blessed is the resurrection of Christ.

Easter 2005

# # #

Armenia backs China’s anti-secession efforts – spokesman

Noyan Tapan news agency
22 Mar 05

Yerevan, 22 March: Armenia has always followed with sympathy and
expressed its support for the process of reuniting the Chinese
people within the borders of one fatherland and restoring historical
justice. Armenia’s position on the recognition of one China was
wholly expressed in the joint declaration signed by the presidents
of the two countries in September 2004, the press secretary of the
Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, said while presenting at
the request of the media Armenia’s position on the anti-secession law
adopted by the Chinese parliament last week, which presents China’s
approach to the settlement of the Taiwan problem.

Gasparyan expressed his hope that the efforts made to reunite the
Chinese people, including the adoption of the anti-secession law by
the Chinese parliament will be effective and will open an opportunity
to continue negotiations within the framework of the peace process.

PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Pan-Armenian Youth Festival to be Held in Armenia in July – August 2005

“Baze” festival of the Armenian students and youth will be held
Armenia, from July 15 to August 10, 2005, under the auspices of
Pan Armenian Youth Foundation. This is the third in a series of
youth conferences which aim to promote links between Armenians in
Armenia, Artsakh, and Diaspora; to increase cooperation between the
Armenian youth organizations and entities, and organize educational
and entertaining activities bringing together Armenian youth from
around the world. The participants will visit all regions of Armenia
and Artsakh.

The age limit for the conference participants is generally from 18
to 30 years old. The participants should be able to communicate in
Armenian. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2005.

Application forms, agenda, and more detailed information, in
Armenia, are available at the following website: and
Organizers of the festival, the Pan Armenian
Youth Foundation, can be contacted at Nalbandian Street, #29, Yerevan,
375001, Armenia, tel. (+374-1) 545801, fax (+374-1) 545802.

Karabakh minister says Azerbaijan should compromise to settle conflict

Yeni Musavat, Baku
19 Mar 05

The foreign minister of Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagornyy
Karabakh, Armen Melikyan, has dismissed the idea of stationing
peacekeepers as a guarantee of security for Nagornyy Karabakh. In an
interview with a visiting Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev,
Melikyan said: “They will not stand in the way of attacks of the
Azerbaijani army.” He also described as “nonsense” liberating the
Armenian-controlled territories around Nagornyy Karabakh without
concessions on the part of Azerbaijan. The following is the text of
Eynulla Fatullayev’s report translated from Russian and published by
Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 19 March headlined “We are ready
for talks with Azerbaijan’s minister of internal affairs” and subheaded
“The ‘foreign minister’ of the separatist regime, Armen Melikyan:
‘We should all try to escape the cul-de-sac'”; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

Introduction by Yeni Musavat

Well-known journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has recently paid a visit
to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh and met several enemy officials and
interviewed them. Our readers are already familiar with the interview
of the leader of the separatists, [Nagornyy Karabakh President] Arkadiy
Gukasyan. Today we publish the interview with the “foreign minister”
of the puppet entity, Armen Melikyan, with short abridgements. In
our opinion, it will be interesting in terms of finding out about
the mood of the enemy, learning the truth and making more accurate
calculations about the future.

Status of Nagornyy Karabakh in peace talks

We met [Nagornyy Karabakh Foreign Minister Armen] Melikyan in
Yerevan, in the new office of the “NKR” [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic].
It is interesting, what are his views on resolving the conflict?
Considering that Melikyan is a member of the new generation of
Karabakh politicians, it is possible to say that the “minister’s”
views should be interesting.

[Fatullayev] Until 1997, the political leadership of Nagornyy Karabakh
took part in the peace process as the Armenian community. What caused
Karabakh to seek a broader status?

[Melikyan] I am aware that Nagornyy Karabakh took part in the talks
as a community. Azerbaijan tried to achieve the participation of the
Azerbaijani community of Karabakh in the shape of Nizami Bahmanov
[head of the community] but Karabakh rejected that. The format of
negotiations included then three sides: Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Nagornyy Karabakh. In the wake of the Budapest summit of the OSCE,
which recognized Nagornyy Karabakh as a side to the war, and in the
wake of the Bishkek agreements [on cease-fire], which were signed
by Nagornyy Karabakh, we acted as an independent party. I cannot say
that Karabakh is represented on the level of a community.

Direct talks can be fruitful

[Fatullayev] [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev has urged Armenia
to leave Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh tete-a-tete. He said that
“we will ourselves find a common language with Karabakh” then. What
was the attitude of the Nagornyy Karabakh leadership to this proposal?

[Melikyan] To be frank, it was calm. We have always been for direct
talks with Baku. I think it is abnormal that we are not represented in
the talks. I do not think it is quite right that Armenia participates
in the negotiations. This may be connected with Azerbaijan’s harsh
stance and the international community’s attitude to the issue. Many
believed that non-participation of Karabakh in the peace process will
pay great dividends. However, time showed that not taking Nagornyy
Karabakh seriously only delays resolution of the conflict.

The Karabakh problem appeared with the Soviet Socialist Republic of
Azerbaijan and it has resulted in what we see now. The demise of the
USSR has had a negative impact. Unfortunately, relations between our
peoples have worsened because the then leaders of the three sides
were inexperienced and were not far-sighted.

War is a great human tragedy. We could not reach mutual agreement to
avoid bloodshed. However, this is all past now. We must now try to
find a way out of this cul-de-sac. I reckon that direct talks between
Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh can be very fruitful. At any rate,
we will be able to avoid distorting the truth.

Liberating occupied territories is nonsense

[Fatullayev] In your opinion, what is the likelihood of Azerbaijan
accepting Nagornyy Karabakh as a party to talks if the occupied
territories of lowland Karabakh are freed?

[Melikyan] According to information that we have, Azerbaijan continues
to put forward the demands of liberating these or other territories,
even liberation of all territories, including Nagornyy Karabakh. This
is nonsense. Taking control of Azerbaijan’s territories, we resolved
a military-political problem and reduced the front line. War dictates
its own rules. What matters today is the result.

That is, we responded with force to force and one of the sides
consequently suffered a military defeat. The primary cause of the
conflict is resolving the status of Nagornyy Karabakh. The Karabakh
Armenians must see a guarantee for their existence in the new
Azerbaijani Constitution. They may have compelling reasons for that.
Repressive steps taken by the Baku government against Armenians who
densely populated some districts of Azerbaijan have left no alternative
way for the Karabakh Armenians.

This was a war between the Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan. I fail
to understand it when Azerbaijan blames either Russia, or the West,
or the Armenian diaspora for inciting the conflict.

[Fatullayev] Are you ready to accept the model of Nagornyy Karabakh’s
participation in the talks in exchange for the evacuation of several
districts?

[Melikyan] I cannot completely rule our that possibility. Anyway,
I do not see any obstacle on our side to discussing all the aspects
of the conflict. It is a different question whether a formula for an
agreement will be reached or no.

The main issue is to find a common language. If there is no will
to reach an agreement, then there will be no agreement. However,
we must look at each other in new ways.

[Fatullayev] Some of our political scientists have suggested that the
Azerbaijani government start the talks with Nagornyy Karabakh on the
level of interior minister. Are you ready for that?

[Melikyan] It depends on the powers conferred on the interior
minister who will be conducting the talks. In this sense, it is not
important for us what is the position of the leader of the Azerbaijani
delegation. We are ready to begin the talks with Azerbaijan’s interior
minister.

Melikyan dispenses with formal logic

[Fatullayev] Why has Nagornyy Karabakh distanced itself from the CIS-2
[a bloc of the self-proclaimed entities, including South Ossetia,
Abkhazia, Dniester and Nagornyy Karabakh] recently? Only several years
ago Karabakh was an active participant in the activities of the bloc.

[Melikyan] It is difficult to call that an activity. One should
not generalize all the conflicts. States of this kind must be
created where governments can rely on the public support and trust
the people. International recognition cannot be a goal for a state.
Suffice to recall a group of countries which have been internationally
recognized but which also have been rejected by the international
community and called “cursed” [as published] countries.

I refuse from formal logic on this issue. In my view, one should not
go the way of simple analogies. Too many a phenomenon in this world
change, sometimes unexpectedly for us. The change is not “unexpected”
because it is unnatural, but because it does not comply with the
rules of formal logic. It is necessary to dispel myths.

Principle of territorial integrity

[Fatullayev] One can sense that there are huge prospects for resolving
the Georgian-Abkhaz and Ossetian conflicts. This is shown by the
project of federalizing Georgia on which the European Union is working
hard. To all appearances, soon there will also be a breakthrough in
resolving the Dniester problem. Resolution of all these conflicts
seems possible provided that the principle of territorial integrity
of the countries is abided by. Can one expect a softer stance from
the Nagornyy Karabakh leadership in this sense?

[Melikyan] I think that we should not jump to conclusions when it
comes to issues of this kind. Priority of the principle of territorial
integrity is the wish of the international community. Eventually,
everything depends on the ability of the sides to understand each
other. Why should problems be resolved on the principle of territorial
integrity, rather than the right for self-determination? There are
certain precedents for these and other principles. Everything depends
on the goodwill of the sides and the mutual respect for the views of
each other.

Displaying goodwill

[Fatullayev] You say that Karabakh is ready for a constructive
dialogue. Then why do not you make at least statement displaying
your tolerance towards the other side. There is no doubt that this
would boost mutual trust between the Karabakh Armenians and the
Baku government.

[Melikyan] If they call you an enemy and a villain and will certainly
be killed, then what is the possible constructive stance? The most
we can do is to be patient and not respond to the Azerbaijani threats.

We are ready to make a statement of this kind, if the Baku government
stops threatening Nagornyy Karabakh. However, your government does not
display goodwill. What dialogue can there be when the Baku government
has secretly banned its NGOs and journalists from meeting their
Armenian counterparts.

Or remember the Azerbaijani officer who killed with an axe an
Armenian officer in Budapest. I understand that he felt the sorrow and
bitterness of the war, suffered losses and was under the influence of
extreme emotional disturbance. That is, it is possible to understand
him from a psychological point of view. Yet, I cannot understand your
society which tries to turn him into a hero.

Peacekeepers will not save us

[Fatullayev] Undoubtedly, one of the main obstacles to resolving the
Karabakh conflict is the fact that the lowland Karabakh has been
occupied. Karabakh is never tired of saying that the territories
seized are a kind of a “security zone” to protect Nagornyy Karabakh
from Azerbaijani attacks. Do not you think that the stage-by-stage
plan to resolve the conflict and liberation of several of the occupied
districts could boost trust between the sides? Is not the unequivocal
stance taken by the political centres of the world that troops will
be dispatched to stop the war in case military operations are resumed
the best guarantee for Nagornyy Karabakh?

[Melikyan] We frequently discuss the factor of foreign influence.
True, if we agree to this option, then a conditional line will be
created to separate the sides and the peacekeepers will be stationed
there. However, this does not mean that those peacekeepers will save
us. After a first shoot-out they will turn and leave for their bases.
They will not stand in the way of attacks of the Azerbaijani army.
Only if there is goodwill on the part of Azerbaijan, we can make
concessions.

Concessions must be mutual

[Fatullayev] However, there has been no incident so far when
peacekeepers failed to prevent resumption of military operations.
Yugoslavia can be cited as a case in point although the West was
clearly negative towards its government. What is more, peacekeepers
there did not turn and leave… [ellipsis as published]

[Melikyan] True, but the international community is very upset about
the results obtained in Yugoslavia. Back to the issue of territories.
Why does everyone expect a gesture of goodwill not from Azerbaijan
but from Karabakh? They first demanded that we liberate four, then six
districts. Now they insist on seven districts. Perhaps we should submit
them the entire Nagornyy Karabakh and move to a different country?

This is not possible. Compromise is possible only on the basis of
parity. People in Karabakh know perfectly well what is war. They
know that they will not cede what they obtained through combat and
bloodshed. I mean not territories, but the right to elect a government
of their own. If you ask for a compromise, be ready yourself for
concessions.

Turkish minister describes Armenian genocide claims as “slander”

Anatolia news agency
22 Mar 05

Ankara, 22 March: “I launch a call to countries who become a tool of
the Armenian allegations: Either you account for what you have done,
or prove the allegations,” Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday [22 March].

Gul addressed his party group meeting as the acting prime minister.

Mentioning the so-called Armenian allegations, Gul recalled that
Turkish and Armenian peoples lived together for nearly a thousand
years and contributed to each others’ culture and security within
this period.

Gul stated that Armenians worked as high-ranking officials and
Armenian church has been set up in the Ottoman period, and said:
“Armenian language and religion were preserved and developed. Our
Armenian citizens, those who consider the issue objectively, and many
historians clearly saw those facts. Despite this, there is an enmity
against Turkey.”

“The sorrows and dangers experienced by the elements comprising
the Ottoman society during the last period of the Ottoman Empire is
another fact of the history. Everybody had difficult times in those
years. All those were historical facts,” Gul noted.

Gul said there were documents and evidences of the sufferings of
thousands of Ottoman citizens and stressed that those who affirmed
so-called Armenian allegations were the imperialist circles and
chauvinist Armenian nationalists.

“Armenian Diaspora living in the United States and Europe are in good
spirits. Since they are minority, they needed a tool to preserve
their minority conscience and their power. They needed an issue to
exploit. They are also guilty as they do not go to Armenia to help
their brothers. They have a comfortable life where they live. They
exploit this issue both to strengthen their presence there and to
use their minority powers.”

“Unfortunately, several parliaments made wrong decisions. We have
shown our reactions to the decisions taken in those parliaments,
and we will continue to react,” Gul stressed.

Emphasizing that genocide was a crime against humanity, Gul said
this was not an ordinary crime that can be imputed to anybody. Gul
reminded that Turkey also signed the UN treaty on genocide in 1948.
Noting that provisions pertaining to genocide became a part of the
Turkish Penal Code (TCK), Gul said: “In order to consider an act as
genocide, members of an ethnical or religious group should be killed
with the aim of eradicating them totally or partially.”

Gul said: “Has something like this happened in our history? If it
had happened, so why the Armenian churches still exist? Why there
are Armenian citizens in Turkey? ”

Describing the allegations as “sophistry and slander”, Gul said: “We
are launching a call to the parliaments and countries who become a tool
of those allegations: ‘if you are able to make such allegation, then
either you will account for them, or you will prove the allegations.”

“We have invited everybody and we have opened our achieves. We have
invited all the scientists, including the Armenian, French, American
and British scientists. The archives in Leningrad, Britain, Paris
and Armenia should also be opened,” Gul emphasized.

“If such a tragedy happened in this country, it has been experienced
altogether. Families of all of us had experienced such sorrows,”
Gul stressed.

Gul said the (Turkish) parliament and the government from now on
would be involved in further activities on such issues.

“Government’s willingness as regards to full membership to the European
Union (EU) is still alive. EU continue to be our main priority,”
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday.

Gul recalled that several media organs recently asked questions
like, “does the government deviate from its EU target?” or “has the
government lost its excitement for EU?”.

Denying all those allegations FM stated that, “our primary target is
to make Turkish nation to reach a living standard at the EU level.”

Gul said any weakening or slowdown was out of question.

Two Armenian soldiers killed in exchange of fire – Azeri TV

ANS TV, Baku
22 Mar 05

[Presenter] The Armenian armed forces are continuing their offensive
on the Agdam section of the front line.

Two soldiers of the Armenian army were killed and several wounded in
an exchange of fire at about 2000 [1600 gmt] on 21 March.

Our soldier Ruslan Racabov, who was killed in an attempt to repel an
offensive mounted by Armenian servicemen on Agdam’s village of Mirusen
on 20 March, was buried in Lankaran today. May he rest in peace.

Sahin Rzayev of the ANS Karabakh bureau reports more details of the
situation on the front line:

[Rzayev over phone] Starting from 0600 today [0200 gmt], the Armenian
armed forces fired from their positions in Agdam’s occupied villages
of Sixlar and Qarvand on the positions of the Azerbaijani army in the
villages of Mirusen and Gulabli in the same district and then on the
villages themselves. The firing from assault rifles and machine guns
lasted for over an hour. The Azerbaijani forces opened retaliatory
fire to silence the enemy. The Armenian side sustained casualties.

The Armenian army again fired from the same positions on our positions
in the village of Mirusen at about 1300 [0900 gmt]. The shooting
lasted for 15 minutes this time.

We can hear sporadic gunshots on the front line at the moment, but
there is no intensive shooting.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian president, new Zambian envoy discuss ties

A1+ web site
22 Mar 05

The newly-appointed Zambian ambassador to Armenia, Peter Chintala,
(residency in Moscow) submitted his credentials to Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan today.

Kocharyan pointed out that it was important to exchange comprehensive
information between the two countries in order to specify possible
spheres of cooperation.

The ambassador said that his country was interested in establishing
relations with Armenia and the current opportunities will be studied
with this aim.

The sides expressed their opinion that they can implement joint
programmes, especially in the spheres of science, education and health.

Russian president to visit Armenia on 24-25 March

Mediamax news agency
22 Mar 05

Yerevan, 22 March: Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in
Yerevan on a working visit on 24 March, the press secretary of the
Armenian president, Viktor Sogomonyan, told Mediamax news agency today.

Vladimir Putin will meet Armenian President Robert Kocharyan during
the visit which will last till 25 March. A meeting of members of
the official Russian delegation with their Armenian colleagues with
the Russian and Armenian presidents in attendance has been scheduled
as well.

Robert Kocharyan and Vladimir Putin will also attend a concert on
the occasion of the official beginning of the Year of the Russian
Federation in Armenia.