Azeri President to visit Iran in February

IRNA web site, Tehran
29 Dec 04

Baku, 30 December: Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar
Mammamdyarov said here Wednesday [29 December] that President Ilham
Aliyev’s upcoming sensitive state visit of Iran is aimed at deepening
bilateral ties.

Mammamdyarov made the comment in a meeting with Islamic Republic of
Iran’s Ambassador to Baku Afshar Soleymani.

Referring to the process of preparing the documents to be signed
during President Aliyev’s February state visit of Iran by the two
countries’ officials, the Azeri foreign minister appreciated the
efforts made by Iran’s Embassy in that respect.

Elmar Mammamdyarov meanwhile thanked his Iranian counterpart for
sending a congratulation message on the occasion of the Christian New
Year, asking the Iranian ambassador to convey his congratulation on
the occasion to Dr Kharrazi.

The two officials during the meeting also evaluated the outcome of the
Iranian health and defence ministers’ recent trips to Baku as “quite
positive and important in expansion of bilateral ties.”

The Iranian envoy, too, said during the meeting, “During the Health,
Treatment and Medical Education Minister Masud Pezeshkiyan’s trip to
Azerbaijan the draft for the two countries’ health and medical
memorandum of understanding to be signed by the two countries’
presidents was prepared, and approved by the two countries’
officials.”

He added, “The two countries also reached agreement on construction of
a hospital, manufacturing medicine, and kidney transplant surgeries in
Azerbaijan by the Iranian side.

Soleymani announced, “Kidney transplant surgeries would be done at one
of Baku’s hospitals by Iranian physicians.”

The Iranian envoy expressed certainty that President Aliyev’s
three-day state visit, in response to President Khatami’s state visit
of Baku in 2004, would open a new chapter in two countries’ relations.

Some of the other issues addressed during the meeting included other
aspects of bilateral ties, regional developments, and reciprocal
support of the two countries for each other at international scenes.

Stratfor.com

Armenia: The Crush of Global Pressures
December 28, 2004 1815 GMT

Summary

The former Soviet republic of Armenia, located at the crushing center
of a series of geopolitical tectonic plates, is on the cusp of a
massive change. But unlike many of the other former Soviet republics
that are choosing between Russia and the West, Armenia’s choice is not
nearly as clear-cut — and its future will be free of the decisive
paths that may be available to other states.

Analysis

Armenia is a former Soviet republic in trouble. Its economy holds
little prospect, its people are leaving in droves and its geopolitical
space is under siege. The one factor that has helped it keep its head
above water to date is Russian sponsorship. But, as Russia racks up
geopolitical defeats, that too could soon give way.

The South Caucasus that Armenians call home is where the Russian,
Turkish and Iranian geopolitical plates converge, putting the small
states there under enormous — and continuous — pressure. Georgia and
Azerbaijan have opted to look not just to Turkey next door, but also
to Europe and the United States. Such connections make Iran —
clerical regime or not — hostile to both states, a factor that is
only enflamed when one considers that nearly a quarter of Iran’s
population is actually of Azerbaijani ethnicity.

Armenia, for reasons of war, history, and the 1915 Armenian Genocide
by the Turks, naturally looks to Iran, and especially similarly
Orthodox Christian Russia to counterbalance itself against its hostile
eastern and western neighbors.

Under the Soviet system, Armenia received its oil from Azerbaijan and
traded (as part of the Soviet Union) with Turkey. As the Soviet era
ended, however, Armenia became embroiled in a war with Azerbaijan over
the fate of Nogorno-Karabakh, a majority Armenian enclave within
Azerbaijani territory. Armenia — or if you believe Yerevan’s public
relations, Armenian volunteers supporting the Karabakh Armenians —
won the war and continues to control a large western slice of
Azerbaijani territory contingent to it. But Turks, who consider
Azerbaijanis their ethnic kin based on historical, ethnic and
linguistic grounds, slapped on a near-total embargo, limiting
Armenia’s trade options to only Georgia to the north and Iran to the
south.

Armenia has refused to negotiate down from this untenable geopolitical
position. After winning the Nogorno-Karabakh war, Armenian leaders —
backed by a fiery nationalism that is quite popular among Armenians
within both the country and the diaspora — have refused to seriously
negotiate a peace agreement with Azerbaijan that might end the
military standoff.

To be fair, the Azerbaijanis have not exactly been extending olive
branches either, but Baku believes that ultimately its oil and natural
gas revenues will allow it to build up a military force capable of
recapturing its lost territory. It likely is correct. Armenia, on the
other hand, is an economic basket case dependent upon diaspora support
for one-fifth of its gross domestic product. Nearly one-third of
Armenians have emigrated abroad to look for better opportunities since
independence in 1991, the sharpest population decline anywhere in the
world. Only three million remain. There are eight million Azerbaijanis
and 69 million Turks.

To sustain its political and military positions, Armenia largely is
dependent upon Russia, as the source of nearly all of its energy and
its de facto security guarantor. Russia’s commitment to the Armenian
relationship will soon begin to falter, and with it, quite possibly
Armenia’s chances for survival.

The dawning problem is one that Armenian President Robert Kocharian
has foreseen. In October 1999 there was a paramilitary attack against
the Armenian Parliament that resulted in the deaths of several members
of the country’s mostly pro-Russian political faction; Russia took
advantage of the situation to send special forces troops in and cement
its political influence in the small country. The attack and Moscow’s
reaction to it shook Kocharian’s view of the Russians as a dependable
ally. After all, if the Russians could not prevent its most ardent
supporters from harm, and would take advantage of Armenian instability
to strengthen its grip, was Russian protection really worth it?

Kocharian, always a moderate on the issue of Russia, began quietly
reaching out to other potential power centers in an attempt to balance
foreign interests in Yerevan.

But the coming crisis has little to do with Armenian desires of
balance, and everything to do with a new world being forced upon the
small country. In 2005 the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will
activate, and within two years its sister project, the Shah Deniz
natural gas pipeline, will most likely also enter operation. The two
parallel lines will transport Azerbaijani energy west through Georgia
and Turkey and then on to global markets. Azerbaijan and Georgia will
then be getting all of their energy needs from the two projects and
will no longer need to import any energy from Russia’s Caucasian
network.

Once that happens, Armenia will no longer be able to depend upon
Russian deliveries. On one hand, the economics of maintaining the
network of supplying Armenia — which does not even border Russia —
are questionable unless Russia can also ship petroleum to Azerbaijan
and Georgia. Economies of scale and all that.

More importantly, the Georgians are not particularly fond of Russians.
Once they have a reliable alternative to the purchase of Russian
natural gas, they are very likely — just as the Moldovans,
Ukrainians, Belarusians and Transdnesiterians have done before them —
to siphon supplies bound for elsewhere (i.e. Armenia) from the Russian
supply line that crosses their territory. That will put Russia in the
awkward position of either subsidizing a geopolitical foe, or cutting
off supplies to Armenia to spite Georgia.

Even worse than the energy issue, Georgia may soon be causing problems
for Russia’s military deployment in Armenia. Already Georgian
authorities — with full Western support — are blocking Russia from
resupplying and rotating new troops into its Georgian military base in
Akhalkalaki near the Armenian border. Once the Russians are forced out
of Akhalkalaki, as seems likely, it will become an open question
whether Tbilisi will impinge upon Russia’s ability to keep its
Armenian forces supplied.

Either way Russia’s most significant contributions to Armenian
security are about to fall into jeopardy, and, fate in the Caucasus
being a fickle thing, the Armenians must plan accordingly.

Armenia is preparing for a possible future without Russian sponsorship
in two ways. First, it is looking to its other traditional backer,
Iran, to fill the gap. The Armenians and the Iranians already are
putting together an alternative natural gas supply line to keep the
lights on in Yerevan. Unlike Russia, Iran actually borders Armenia, so
maintaining a new network is not an overburdening expense. Unlike the
massive trans-Caucasus network that connects Armenia to Russia, the
Iranian-Armenian project only requires a mere $30 million, 26-mile
pipe linking the countries’ networks together.

But Iran can never be Russia: their cultures are too dissimilar and,
unlike Russia, Iran lacks the ability to project power in a way that
might dissuade Azerbaijan or Turkey from working against Armenia. Iran
favors Armenia over its Shiite compatriots in Azerbaijan because it is
concerned about maintaining supremacy over the Turkic minority within
its own country and as a lever to keep Azerbaijan and Turkey
physically separated. It is a relationship based upon mutual interest,
but unlike Azerbaijan and its Turkish sponsor, the two are not willing
to sacrifice anything — certainly not blood — for each other. Even
if they wanted to, their military projection capabilities are
questionable to say the least.

Military intimidation in the Caspian is something that has already
backfired horrendously on the Iranians. In 2001, Iran fired warning
shots at Baku-based ships prospecting near the Iranian-Azerbaijani sea
border. Turkey responded by helping Azerbaijan host military
exercises. When it was over, several advanced fighter jets, complete
with Turkish pilots, remained behind.

Undercutting the commitment of the gas line, Iran is even working to
pipe some Turkmen gas to the Armenian market so that should Armenia
default on its energy debts — as it has in the past — Iran will be
left holding the transit fees, but Turkmenistan the energy bill.

Second, Armenia is extending Washington a tentative hand, and what
better way to do it than to support the current administration’s
primary international project? On Dec. 4, the Armenian Parliament
voted to empower Kocharian to send a small team — 46 support
personnel — to participate in the Iraqi occupation coalition. The
contingent will not be seeing any combat, and the entire affair has
been carefully orchestrated (with the United States paying for the
whole thing).

This puts Armenia on the long list of former Soviet republics and
clients which have sought to trade the Kremlin for the West: Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia,
Serbia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and most recently — and loudly —
Ukraine.

Unlike all of these states, however, Armenia cannot fully choose the
Western path.

Armenia, unlike the states aforementioned states, is not
geographically proximate to the Western states. And unlike Azerbaijan
and Georgia (who share this characteristic), Armenia has no oil
(unlike Azerbaijan) and has missed out on its chance to be a transit
route that could ship petroleum westward (unlike Georgia).

Moreover, for Armenia to truly make a go at Westernizing, it would
have to bury the hatchet with Turkey and Azerbaijan, which would mean,
at a minimum, withdrawing the bulk of its forces — volunteers — from
internationally-recognized Azerbaijani territory. In addition to that
being a non-starter at home, it would enrage the Armenian diaspora,
endangering the one international advantage that Armenia enjoys; the
diaspora’s economic support is the only thing that keeps the Armenian
economy in its pseudo-functional shape.

This commits Armenia to strategic ambiguity out of circumstance rather
than design. Russia is being cut off, the West is for all practical
purposes out of reach, and Iran is so fundamentally different that
though Armenia can be a good neighbor it could never really be a
client. Winds of change are blowing in Armenia. Russia is more
strategically distant than ever, and the West’s strategy of triggering
soft revolutions a la Georgia and Ukraine has proven reliable.
Armenia’s next presidential elections are in 2006.

Winds of change are blowing in Armenia; it is not clear whether
Armenia will survive them.

Window on Eurasia: Russia’s First Illegal Alien Deportation Camp Opens in
Krasnodar

29 December 2004

Paul Goble

Tartu, December 29 – A camp intended to confine illegal
immigrants until they can be speedily deported from the Russian Federation
opened today in Krasnodar krai, the first such camp to be opened in
post-Soviet Russia and one organized in such a way that it seems certain to
exacerbate ethnic tensions not only there but elsewhere as well.

Krasnodar Governor Aleksandr Tkachev, who has long pushed this
idea, said at the opening that “we have begun the struggle with univited
guests, and we will continue this work to find, detain, and expell those who
do not wish to obey” Russian laws, Radio Mayak Kubani reported earlier
today. ( )

Tkachev added that people living in his territory “ought to be
able to live a peaceful life and not be afraid of going out to work or to
rest. And as experience shows, among these illegal [migrants], there are
criminals.”

In the near future, Krasnoyarsk officials have indicated that
they plan to open three additional camps elsewhere in that southern Russian
region. Each of these four tent cities will hold up to 150 people pending
deportation and will be heavily guarded, according to “Novyyze izvestiya.”
(See .)

This action comes following a significant increase in the
reported number of illegal aliens coming into the region from the Caucasus
and Central Asia and the apparent inability of officials there to control
the situation, even though in the last year alone they had increased the
number of militia officers solely responsible for dealing with this issue to
400.

Officials both in Moscow and the regions are attempting to deal
with the anger many Russians feel toward illegal immigrants, especially
those from the Caucasus and Central Asia. But so far, most of the measures
they have tried have proved ineffective often because of the corruption of
militia officers who often are willing to allow illegal aliens to remain for
a price.

That has led to calls for more radical measures like those now
being introduced in Krasnodar. But there are three reasons for thinking
that these steps are likely to exacerbate ethnic tensions there even if they
succeed in reducing the influx of illegal aliens from the Caucasus or
further afield.

First, Tkachev has played upon popular prejudice by suggesting
that illegal immigrants are responsible for a rise in crime. Research by
the Interior Ministry in Moscow and by the noted ethnosociologist Emil Pain
have disproved that contention, but many Russians are inclined to believe
it. Tkachev’s remarks will only reinforce such attitudes.

Second, the Krasnodar authorities say that they will organize
the camps on ethnic lines. That is, they will put people from Ukraine and
Moldova in one of the camps, people from Armenia in another, and those from
Central Asian countries in a third. Intended to make the management of these
camps easier, this step could easily have just the opposite effect.

(Other Russian regional governments which have thought about
setting up such filtration camps in the past have concluded that it would be
a mistake to organize them along ethnic lines, lest that provoke an
explosion. ( ).)

And third, Tkachev and his staff say that they want to do all
this without putting undue burdens on Krasnodar taxpayers. To that end,
they have created tent cities with few amenities. And they plan to force
the illegal migrants to pay for their own deportations either on their own
or by getting money from their co-ethnics who are living in the krai
legally.

The logic behind that approach seems to be that this will make
the local non-Russian communities less willing to help their co-ethnics come
to Krasnodar, but it is entirely likely that in at least some cases, this
tactic will provoke anti-government and even anti-Russian feelings among
both those confined and those who are told to help them.

Tkachev’s policies may nonetheless be popular with ethnic
Russians there who are angry about illegal immigration. Consequently and
especially in the absence of serious criticism from outside, what he does
may very well be copied by others in other region’s of the country where the
influx of illegal migrants is large.

But even such draconian measures may not reduce the number of illegal aliens
any time soon. Economic and demographic pressures are simply too great. What
such steps almost certainly will do, however, is to further divide the
Russian Federation’s ethnic communities and thus make the achievement of
interethnic accord there that much more difficult.

Religion law needs reforming – Armenian premier

Noyan Tapan news agency
29 Dec 04

YEREVAN

The meeting of the council for religious affairs under the Armenian
prime minister on 29 December discussed the work that has been carried
out so far. It was pointed out that the council has been continuing to
implement its main problems and functions directed at enhancing the
effectiveness of state policy in the sphere of religion, settling
problems connected with the regulation of the activities of religious
organizations, the tolerant and constructive co-existence of religious
organizations and ethnic minorities and settling mutual relations
between the state and the church.

The session discussed issues concerning supervision over the
activities of religious organizations, forms and contents of teaching
the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Armenian schools and
the procedure of drawing an expert conclusion on the registration of
religious organizations, the Armenian government’s press service told
Noyan Tapan new agency.

Touching on the Armenian law “On freedom of conscience and religious
organizations”, which regulates the religious sphere, as well as on
problems accumulated in this sphere, it was stressed that the current
law adopted in 1991 does not meet modern requirements and needs
significant reforms. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan issued
an instruction to learn in detail and submit proposals regarding the
new draft law “On freedom of conscience and religious organizations”.

Iran’s envoy downplays map of “greater Armenia” – Azeri TV

ANS TV, Baku
28 Dec 04

[Presenter] The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Afshar Soleymani,
has accused Armenia of distorting history after the Armenian newspaper
Metsamor carried a map depicting Iran as part of greater Armenia.

[Correspondent over video of a map] Although it is not said where the
newspaper was printed, an Azerbaijani, who resides in Moscow and who
has given us the newspaper, has said that it is widely circulated in
Moscow. Each edition of the newspaper, which has a circulation of
5,000, carries this map. This can be considered an Armenian-style
gratitude to Iran, although Iran continues comprehensive cooperation
with Armenia – which runs counter to Azerbaijan’s interests – and is
bending over backwards to make Armenia prosperous.

Perhaps the newspaper could have been neglected were it published by
an ordinary journalist. However, we must say that the editor-in-chief
of the newspaper is an academic who is well-known in Armenia. Still,
Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan described the incident as ridiculous
and said that it posed no threat to Iran’s territorial integrity.

[Soleymani, captioned, in his office, speaking Azeri] The person who
drew the map probably is poorly acquainted with both geography and
history. If he knew [the subjects], he might not have drawn it. There
are so many lies in this map and it is so groundless that in Iran this
newspaper would be used for wrapping dates.

[Correspondent] In order to damage the recent improvement in
Iran-Azerbaijan relations, the newspaper resorts to some dirty
tricks. For instance, the latest edition of the newspaper quoted the
late Imam Khomeyni as saying that he does not know such a nation as
Azerbaijanis. However, Soleymani said that these reports are wide of
the mark and Khomeyni always respected the Azerbaijanis.

[Soleymani] Imam Khomeyni, may God bestow His blessings upon him, has
never made such remarks. On the contrary, he always enjoyed good
relations with the Azerbaijanis and valued them. He always remembered
the role of the Azerbaijanis in Iran’s history. This can be proved
from original sources.

[Correspondent] The ambassador advised us not to pay attention to this
drivel. However, Azerbaijan once did not take seriously the Armenian
claims on Nagornyy Karabakh.

President Saakashvili visits ethnic Armenians in southern Georgia

Imedi TV, Tbilisi
28 Dec 04

[Presenter] During his visit to Akhalkalaki [town in southern Georgia
with a large ethnic Armenian population] today, which lasted just
about 30 minutes, the president managed to find time to visit two
local families. Mikheil Saakashvili unexpectedly called on an ethnic
Georgian and an ethnic Armenian family and personally gave them New
Year presents. [Passage omitted]

[Saakashvili, interviewed] Unfortunately, as you know, my predecessor
[Eduard Shevardnadze] would only meet local activists in the function
room. He seemed to think that there was no need to visit people. As
for me, I am more interested in ordinary people than in activists. I
take interest in specific people and their problems.

Next year we are starting the implementation of a big project, the
construction of the Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki road. This, naturally, cannot
be completed within a year. We are thinking of starting it some time
in the autumn. We have already secured funding for that. It will be
one of the main projects of my presidency.

This region needs to be integrated and linked to the main transit
routes, to the capital of Georgia. People should be able to move about
more. They should be able to sell their produce somewhere else and be
integrated into Georgia both economically and politically. [Passage
omitted]

Azeri parliament protests at NATO official’s remarks on Karabakh

MPA news agency,
29 Dec 04

BAKU

Azerbaijan’s parliament has sent a letter of protest to the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly’s president, Pierre Lellouche, in connection
with his statement that it is necessary to “hand over Nagornyy
Karabakh under the provisional control of Armenia”.

The letter of protest in connection with Lellouche’s remarks was sent
to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on behalf of Azerbaijan’s
parliament. Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said at the parliament’s session
that in the letter, the Azerbaijani legislature demanded explanations
from the president of the assembly concerning the aforesaid remarks.

The incumbent opposition has to quit the political stage of
Azerbaijan, Alasgarov said. “Let younger forces replace them and
establish opposition parties which will re-start the struggle for
power,” he said. In Alasgarov’s view, a new opposition has to be
created in Azerbaijan.

Azeri opposition paper points to government’s foreign policy failures

Azadliq, Baku
9 Dec 04

Text of Xayal Sahinoglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 29
December headlined “Ilham Aliyev’s UN plan ends in a fiasco” and
subheaded “Moreover, it emerged that the OSCE does not regard Karabakh
as Azerbaijan’s land” and “What other catastrophes is this
good-for-nothing government going to put us through?”

The foreign policy of every state is the continuation of its domestic
policy. In other words, the diplomatic success of the ruling
political force directly depends on its domestic policy. The
international attitude to the current regime in Azerbaijan is negative
because it is crudely violating human rights and restricting freedom
of speech in the country. [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev, who is
guided solely by his personal interests in the country’s foreign, as
well as domestic policy, recently confirmed once again that he has no
diplomatic capabilities to resolve the Karabakh problem, which is
considered to be the most important problem of our people. The
well-known statement by the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, ruined the propaganda campaign that the
authorities have been waging for months.

In fact, the government’s plan to raise the Karabakh conflict with the
UN failed from the beginning. The first failure the government faced
in this direction was that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen backed
Armenia’s stance when the issue was put on the agenda. Like Armenia,
the OSCE co-chairmen were against discussing the issue at the
UN. Although it is possible to blame the OSCE for taking a biased
position on this issue. But it should also be taken into account that
the reaction of the aforesaid authoritative entity stems from the
good-for-nothing foreign policy of the authorities. The OSCE Minsk
Group realizes that it is easier to speak to the Aliyevs in the
language of pressure because they have come to power not by the will
of the people, but through election fraud. It means that the ruling
force in Azerbaijan is ready to make any concession to protect their
political power.

Another setback the government suffered in its UN plan was that nobody
but representatives of Islamic states voted for the Karabakh issue
when it was put on the UN agenda. And this was due to the unfavourable
diplomatic situation with limited capabilities to manoeuvre that
Azerbaijan has plunged into under the Aliyevs. The UN’s attitude to
the Karabakh problem undoubtedly implies that the international
community actually questions Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. At
the same time, this attitude also confirmed that the authorities’
long-lasting propaganda campaign that our country will increase the
number of its allies in the international arena as a result of its
“oil policy” is nothing but a lie.

Finally, the last and maybe tragic setback Azerbaijan suffered in the
government’s UN plan is that the OSCE has set a condition that it will
monitor the settlement of Armenians in the occupied [Azerbaijani]
territories only in the seven occupied districts around Nagornyy
Karabakh. Merzlyakov said that official Baku promised not to raise the
problem with the UN in return for the OSCE’s consent to conduct this
monitoring. But as can be seen, the Ilham Aliyev government did not
have enough strength to have Nagornyy Karabakh and Lacin [District of
Azerbaijan] included in the monitoring in exchange for giving up its
position. Although [Azerbaijani] Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
had earlier stated that the Armenians are settling mainly in
Lacin. This setback of the Aliyev government may be regarded as tragic
also because one can draw the conclusion that the OSCE does not regard
Karabakh as Azerbaijan’s territory.

Azeri MP calls on colleagues to adopt law to punish “immoral journalists”

Azadliq, Baku
29 Dec 04

Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 29
December headlined “Calal Aliyev has issued a fatwa to destroy the
free press”

[Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s uncle] Calal Aliyev spoke in the
parliament yesterday for the first time after the death of [his
brother ex-President] Heydar Aliyev. At the beginning of his speech,
he accused the opposition of playing into the hands of the Armenians
and started scolding the press in a specific way:

[Aliyev] Immoral people who call themselves opposition and journalists
who number over 60,000 write whatever they think. [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev has stated that if Armenia is Russia’s
outpost, who shall we negotiate with? Is it not enough? They are not
informing people about this. Is this what you are doing? They have
done a lot of things. They write whatever immoral things they may
imagine about worthy people, the president and the late [president].
Who will fight this?

They are a hundred times more hostile to Azerbaijan than the
Armenians. One cannot find such mean and immoral people who are
enemies of their own nation among these 8m people and the world’s
population of more than 6 billion. Who should wipe them out? We need
to fight them resolutely. We need to punish them in courts based on
the existing laws. I have done so myself. I have filed lawsuits
against Yeni Musavat, Azadliq and the newspaper of that immoral tar
seller – Alternativ.

They were found guilty and admitted their mistakes. Do the same thing,
why are you not doing so? We need to include it into the agenda and
draw up a law. It is necessary to put an end to this unbridled
immorality under the guise of journalism.

Georgian parliament confirms ambassador to Armenia

Kavkasia-Press news agency, Tbilisi
28 Dec 04

Parliament has confirmed Revaz Gachechiladze as Georgia’s ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Armenia by 138 votes to one,
Kavkasia-Press news agency reports.

Gachechiladze was born in Tbilisi in 1943. He graduated from the
Tbilisi State University department of oriental studies department.

He is a member of the Georgian Academy of Natural Sciences and a
member of the Geographic Society.