Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 7 2004
AZERBAIJAN ARMY – MOST POWERFUL ARMY ON SOUTHERN CAUCASUS
[July 07, 2004, 11:04:22]
As was informed by AzerTAj, this idea was stated by Minister of
Defense of Azerbaijan, colonel-general Safar Abiyev at the meeting
with the delegation headed by the Latvian defense ministry’s state
secretary Edgars Rinkevics.
The visitor has conveyed greetings of Minister of Defense of his
country, noting that the Ministry of Defense of Latvia and Azerbaijan
have undertaken first steps in the direction of bilateral links, they
have wide experience in the field of cooperation with the NATO, and
after signing the agreement with the Ministry of Defense of
Azerbaijan these relations even more will go deep.
Colonel-general Safar Abiyev has told: `It is a great honor to
cooperate with the Ministry of Defense of the state being a full
member of the NATO. At the Istanbul summit of the NATO it has been
declared the further plans. Certainly, it will strengthen cooperation
between she NATO member-states and partners.
Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan has had with the visitor exchange
of opinions on creation of our Armed Forces, reforming of military
educational institutions and conducted reforms. He has told:
`Azerbaijan during ten years closely cooperates with the NATO within
the framework of the PfP program. Now, representatives of our Armed
Forces are trained in the higher military schools of some of world
states. Today the Azerbaijan Army is the most powerful army on the
Southern Caucasus’.
Answering the question of the visitor on prospects of settlement of
the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, the Minister has
told: `The conflict should be solved on the basis of norms of
international law. In this connection, 4 resolutions of Security
Council of the United Nations have been adopted. The US State
Department, the Council of Europe, the European Union, and also
presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have expressed the
opinion concerning occupation of the Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. We
trust, that this process even more will extend, and the truth will
triumph. The position of the Azerbaijan state in settlement of the
conflict is final, and it will not cede a sod of its lands to the
enemy.
Then, discussed was the current military-political situation in
regions of the Southern Caucasus and Baltic countries.

Messenger.ge, Georgia
July 7 2004
Russia’s policy regarding South Ossetia remains unknown
Recent events show that Georgia is going to continue putting pressure
upon Tskhinvali separatists with the aim of restoring its territorial
integrity in the region. It is still not known, however, how Russia
will conduct itself in this respect. President Mikheil Saakashvili
claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised him that Russia
would not interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs. However, Russia’s
true intentions regarding South Ossetia remain to be seen – too often
during Shevardnadze’s administration Russia said one thing but did
the other.
Just two days ago President Saakashvili signed a document determining
the status of the Adjaran Autonomous Republic. According to the
president this is a historical document and the issue of the status
of Adjara has now been decided once and for all. Georgia in reality
faced losing Adjara, but this was prevented by the support of
friendly countries and the efforts of the Georgian people.
The Batumi velvet revolution was the first successful step toward
Georgia’s reintegration. Saakashvili has stated that he will not
tolerate separatist enclaves within his country’s territory, and sees
South Ossetia as his prime target.
To protect himself from the humanitarian-aid “attack” of the Georgian
authorities, the leader of the separatist regime Eduard Kokoiti has
begun digging trenches and putting all the region’s armed-forces on
high-alert. Kokoiti’s combativeness very much depends upon the
Russian position. But this position remains unknown. While the
Russian Foreign Ministry expressed its “deep respect” for Georgian
territorial integrity over the weekend, a high ranking Moscow
official Mayorov would not answer a simple question put by the
Georgian State Minister Goga Khaindrava – which two countries are
connected by the Roki Tunnel?
The Roki tunnel connects Russia with Georgia in South Ossetia, and
Mayorov’s refusal to openly answer this question could thus be
understood as Russia not considering South Ossetia as part of
Georgia, unless this was an initiative of Mayarov himself. Russia may
have “deep respect” for Georgia’s territorial integrity, but
diplomats still wonder if that includes South Ossetia?
Many thought that the relationship between Georgia and Russia would
have been clarified during the resent Putin-Saakashvili meeting.
Despite the announcement of a simplified visa regime, the meeting
left many more issues unanswered. October is now named as the date to
finalize a Georgian-Russian agreement. Saakashvili announced that
President Putin will visit Tbilisi in October, when the signing of a
framework agreement between the two countries is also planned.
The Russian media has speculated that Putin’s meeting with
Saakashvili on Saturday was rather reserved. This was mainly
explained by the NATO Istanbul summit communiqué again calling for
Russia to remove its military bases from Georgia and by Saakashvili’s
categorical tone during the same summit.
Whatever the speculation, it seems certain that Russia is not
entirely happy with Georgia’s expressed desire to integrate with NATO
and the European Union. Also, Moscow does not want to withdraw its
military bases from Georgia. Russia would rather have Georgia taking
a more pro-Russia stance, rather than pro-Western, like Armenia, in
which case Russia’s interests in the South Caucasus would be
protected and secured.
For instance, Georgia asks Russia to jointly control the Roki Tunnel
so as to stop the smuggling of goods from Russia to Georgia, whereas
Moscow demands that Georgia join CIS-wide customs system which will
completely change the status of smuggled goods. So the positions of
the countries differ radically.
It may be that Saakashvili really received a promise from Putin of
non-interference in Georgia’s internal affairs, but that could be a
mousetrap for Georgia. It could encourage
Georgia to become involved in a local conflict, which could be very
damaging for a poor country such as Georgia and would hinder Georgia
from its movement towards the West. This possible conflict, moreover,
would give grounds to Moscow to refuse fulfilling its commitments on
withdrawing its troops from Georgia.
“Positional ballots” around South Ossetia are underway, and most
probably one should not expect a third “Rose Revolution” in this
region in the near future. However, time is not currently against
Georgia. As President Saakashvili said, in one year Georgia will be
stronger. Maybe only after the October Putin visit will it become
clearer to Georgia how to conduct its relations with Russia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
July 7 2004
Oskanian Discusses Karabakh On Russia Visit
By Aza Babayan in Moscow 07/07/2004 11:01
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and economic issues figured prominently
during Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian talks with senior Russian
officials in Moscow on Tuesday.
Oskanian met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and
high-level lawmakers on a rare visit to the Russian capital which
some observers in Yerevan link to the renewed international efforts
to find a solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute.
`We discussed the Karabakh problem and can talk about some positive
movements there,’ Lavrov told a joint news conference with his
Armenian counterpart. He cited the recent series of meetings between
the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well as the `more
active’ work of the Russian, French and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE’s
Minsk Group.
Both Lavrov and Oskanian would not go into details of their
discussions on Karabakh. The latter said only that he is `very
satisfied’ with the results of the talks. `This shows that the agenda
of our dialogue is quite extensive and deep,’ he said.
A separate statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Oskanian
briefed Lavrov on his trilateral meeting in Istanbul last week with
the Azerbaijani and Turkish foreign ministers. Turkey is seen as
trying to overcome Azerbaijani opposition to the reopening of its
border with Armenia with efforts to facilitate a Karabakh settlement.
The statement said Russian-Armenian commercial ties was another major
topic of the Moscow talks, with both sides agreeing on the need for
`restoring transport communication’ between the two allied states.
`The Russian side promised to keep the issue at the center of its
attention,’ it said, underscoring Armenia’s long-running efforts to
restore rail communication with Russia via Georgia’s breakaway
republic of Abkhazia.
Oskanian was also cited as calling for a `prompt revival’ of the five
state-run Armenian enterprises that were handed over to Russia last
year as part of a swap agreement to settle Yerevan’s $100 million
debt to Moscow. Critics have questioned the Russians’ ability to
breathe a new life into those enterprises, claiming that the deal has
only deepened Armenia’s economic dependence on its former Soviet
master.
Unlike President Robert Kocharian who seems to take every opportunity
to confer with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Oskanian has not
been a frequent guest in Moscow since being appointed foreign
minister in 1998. Tuesday’s meetings marked his first official visit
to the country.
They also led to a surprise revelation that Lavrov, who was the
Kremlin’s longtime representative to the United Nations before
becoming foreign minister recently, has ethnic Armenian roots. `I
have Armenian blood,’ he told journalists. `My father is an Armenian
from Tbilisi.’

Baku Today
July 7 2004
US Ambassador Visits Nakhchivan
U.S. ambassador Reno Harnish arrived in Azerbaijan’s autonomous
republic of Nakhchivan Tuesday on a two-day visit.
On the first day of the visit, Harnish met with Vasif Talibov,
chairman of the Nakhchivani parliament. The current political and
economic situation in the autonomous republic reportedly topped the
agenda of the meeting.
The U.S. ambassador is also expected to discuss Nakhchivan’s poor
human rights record with the authorities of the autonomous republic.
Local and international rights groups, opposition parties as well as
media representatives complain about violation of basic human rights
and freedoms in Nakhchivan.
Several members of the Center for Democratic Development (CDD), an
alliance of local branches of opposition parties, have been refusing
food since June 21 in protest of police harassments.
Turan reported that Talibov told the U.S. ambassador about reforms
carried out in Nakhchivan over the recent years. Talibov also lamented
that the people of Nakhchivan cannot export their products to other
regions of Azerbaijan because of a 12-year-long blockade by Armenia.

Sydney morning herald, Australia
July 7 2004
Weightlifting hit by new doping claims
New doping allegations threaten to disrupt Australian weightlifting
on the eve of the Athens Olympics.
The Australian Weightlifting Federation (AWF) has launched an
investigation after being told by the Australian Sports Drug Agency
(ASDA) Tuesday that an unnamed lifter had refused to take a drug
test.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is expected to hear the case
next week.
Australia’s Olympic weightlifting team is due to be named on Friday.
Caroline Pileggi and Armenian-born Sergo Chakhoyan are expected to be
named as the only two weightlifters on the Australian team.
“There is an incident that is causing us some concern which is being
looked at right now,” said AWF president Sam Coffa, who would only
identify the athlete as being an AWF member.
The average penalty for such an offence is a two-year ban.
The Australian Olympic Committee and the Australian Sports Commission
are monitoring the situation and have offered to help the federation
present its case against the athlete, who is contesting the charge.
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Coffa said that once the investigation was complete, the findings
would be made public, regardless of whether the athlete in question
was guilty or not.
“Innuendos and rumours have a life of their own and they develop
legs. Somebody will say something and somebody will say something
else, and I believe it’s unhealthy,” Coffa said. “If there is a
doping case we immediately make a public statement and if it’s the
other way around and someone has been wrongly accused we will say
that too.”
Caroline Pileggi (+75kg) is expected to be the sole Australian
women’s representative and has an outside chance of winning an
Olympic medal.
The 25-year-old, who claimed gold when women debuted in the sport at
the Commonwealth Games in 2002, has overcome shoulder problems which
kept her out of last year’s world championships.
She competed at the Oceania championships in Fiji in May and the
selection trials two weeks ago in Melbourne.
Armenian-born Sergo Chakhoyan (85kg) missed those events to train in
the country of his birth.
He looms as the man to claim Australia’s second ever Olympic gold
medal, 20 years after Port Lincoln fisherman Dean Lukin made the
breakthrough.
Chakhoyan was suspended in 2001 for two years for using steroids.
The latest allegations involving Australian weightlifting come after
Anthony Martin last month accepted a two-year ban for testing
positive to banned substances.
Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner Seen Lee will appeal a
two-year ban for testing positive in May to the diuretic furosemide.

Glendale news press
LATimes.com
July 7 2004
Defendants discuss deals in murder trial
Selection of jurors starts today in teen’s stabbing, beating case.
Accused men might make pleas.
By Gary Moskowitz, News-Press
LOS ANGELES – The day before a retrial for accused killers Rafael
Gevorgyan and Karen Terteryan, their attorneys spent most of their
time debating last-minute plea bargains and preparing family members
for what might happen the second time around.
The men are accused in the beating and stabbing death of Hoover High
School student Raul Aguirre in 2000.
Last week, Terteryan was willing to accept an offer of 23 years and
eight months in prison. He is accused of stabbing Aguirre in the
heart during a fight. Gevorgyan, who is accused of hitting Aguirre on
the head with a crowbar, declined a plea bargain last week for 16
years in prison, and maintained his position Tuesday.
If convicted of murder, both men could face sentences of 25 years to
life in prison. The first jury deadlocked on charges against the men.
Gevorgyan, during Tuesday’s pretrial hearing, told the judge he
wanted to waive his right to a jury trial and have the judge hear the
case. When the judge questioned him about that decision, Gevorgyan
changed his mind and opted for a jury trial.
“My client is innocent, and the fact that he agreed to go with a jury
trial is proof of that,” said Andrew Flier, Gevorgyan’s attorney. “As
far as I’m concerned, I won a murder trial today. My client did not
kill anyone and is innocent of murder charges.”
Aguirre was 17 on May 5, 2000, when he tried to intervene in what
police say was a gang fight between a former co-worker of Aguirre’s
and Terteryan and Gevorgyan. Investigators have said Aguirre was not
a gang member.
Shepard Kopp, who is Terteryan’s attorney in the retrial, declined to
comment on whether his client was still interested in a plea deal.
“We are talking about trying this case, and that’s it,” Kopp said. He
added that the defendants might have the chance to accept plea
bargains today, before jury selection begins.
Gevorgyan’s aunt, Olga Manedjian, said she felt confident in her
nephew’s decision to go to a jury trial. Manedjian and other family
members held their hands to their faces in anticipation as Gevorgyan
made his decision to go to trial.
“He thinks it’s better, and it is his only hope,” Manedjian said. “I
was thinking he might take a deal, but he knows better than I do. I
know this is hard for him, but I think we should go to trial, too.”
During Tuesday’s pretrial hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Darrell Mavis
said he plans to use a taped conversation between the defendants as
they sat in the back of a police car after their arrest. The tape was
introduced during the first trial but the jury did not hear the tape
because questions arose about its translation from Armenian.
Mavis also plans to introduce new DNA tests that allegedly show
Aguirre’s blood on the crowbar that Gevorgyan is accused of wielding.
Gevorgyan testified during the first trial that he did not swing the
crowbar or hit Aguirre with it.
On Tuesday, Flier argued that the tape should not be admitted as
evidence because it is almost inaudible.
“We thought the tape was useful before, and still is now,” Mavis
said. “We decided it wasn’t going to be in the best interest of our
strategic efforts before, but it will become more clear as we try
this case again.”
Judge Michael Johnson will conduct oral questioning of about 75
jurors in the next two days.

Winston Salem Journal, NC
July 7 2004
Drink Up: Armenian wines make their debut
By Michael Hastings
JOURNAL FOOD EDITOR

New wines are constantly popping up in stores. Now local wine
drinkers can add Armenian wines to the mix, thanks to Ararat Import
Export LLC, formed by Edgar Vardanian, a dancer in Carolina Ballet in
Raleigh, and his partners, former dancer Vlad Burakov and importer
Arnie Slutsky.
Vardanian, 29, began importing brandy and wine from his native
Armenia last year in hopes of having a second career when it comes
time to hang up his dancing shoes.
Most of his imports are wines made from native Armenian grapes rarely
seen in this country. His newest wine is made from pomegranates,
which until recently have not been very popular in the United States.
“In Armenia, pomegranates grow everywhere. We use pomegranates in
some form in almost everything. I’ve been drinking the juice since I
was this high,” Vardanian said, indicating a height of about 2 feet.
The pomegranate fruit itself is notoriously difficult to eat because
it has hundreds of seeds. In Armenia, pomegranates also are made into
a sauce for fish and a syrup used in everything from cakes to
cocktails.
Potential health benefits
Vardanian decided to import pomegranate wine because trendy U.S.
chefs recently have been incorporating the juice and syrup in all
kinds of dishes. Also, pomegranates have been reported to have
potential health benefits, because of their cancer-fighting
antioxidants – more than that in red-wine grapes.
The pomegranate wine, available in Winston-Salem at Whole Foods
Market, is a semisweet wine. Served chilled, it tastes like a blend
of strawberry and red-grape juices. It’s a bit alcoholic at first,
but the fruity flavor increases in appeal upon subsequent sips. This
can be a refreshing wine for summer, not unlike an off-dry rose or
blush wine, such as white zinfandel.
Whole Foods also is carrying a couple of other Ararat red wines. The
1991 areni, a dry red, has lots of white pepper and restrained berry
fruit. Overall, it’s reminiscent of a lighter Cotes du Rhone wine.
Vernashen is like a cross between the pomegranate and areni wines.
Made from the areni grape, it has a peppery nose and berry fruit, but
only a touch a sweetness. All of the wines retail for about $10.
Thriving for centuries
Armenia’s modern wine industry began in 1870, but wine grapes have
thrived there for centuries.
Vardanian named his company for Armenia’s Mount Ararat. It is here,
according to the Bible, that Noah’s Ark came to rest after the flood,
at which time “Noah began to be an husbandman and he planted a
vineyard.” (Genesis 9:20).
Vardanian said that because Armenian wines are mostly imported
through the West Coast and tend to be a bit expensive once they reach
Eastern cities, he’s hoping to fill a void in the market. So far,
he’s encouraged. In fact, he’s working harder than he planned. “I
didn’t expect everybody to be calling me, saying, ‘Bring me some
more,'” he said.
He says he hopes that he’ll soon be able to hire a delivery person,
or contract with a distributor to help get his wines into stores.
Though some of Vardanian’s colleagues dance into their 40s, he knows
that his dancing days are limited. He also recently became engaged,
and he’s thinking about the difficulty of reconciling the performing
life with that of a family. “I’m getting to the age, it’s time to
think of kids,” he said. “With dancing, it’s hard. I can barely take
care of my dogs right now.”
;c=MGArticle&cid=1031776521593

Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, FL
July 7 2004
Ararat wins at Armenian film fest
Atom Egoyan’s 2002 movie, Ararat, won the top prize at the Golden
Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said Monday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
Ararat depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern
Turkey left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide. The
title refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their national
symbol but which now is in Turkey.

CounterPunch
July 7 2004
Elie Wiesel’s Strange Parade
Madman or Commissar?
By MICKEY Z.
Parade Magazine took full advantage of Independence (sic) Day falling
on a Sunday by hiring none other than Elie Wiesel to pen a little
something called “The America I Love” for their patriotic cover
story. Over a two-page spread, the “Nobel Laureate” explained how
America “for two centuries, has stood as a living symbol of all that
is charitable and decent to victims of injustice everywhere…where
those who have are taught to give back.” The perpetually disheveled
Wiesel explained that in the U.S., “compassion for the refugee and
respect for the other still have biblical connotations.”
Those same thoughts coming from a housewife in Peoria or truck driver
in Boise are typically chalked up to ignorance so, perhaps Elie
Wiesel is just an idiot…too simple-minded to discern reality from
fantasy. But we can’t let him off the hook so easily when, after
reminding us-yet again-of his Holocaust experiences, the winner of
the Presidential Medal of Freedom admits, “U.S. history has gone
through severe trials” (apparently this is how Nobel Peace Prize
winners think: it’s “history” that undergoes trials). Ever careful to
point out his bearing witness to the civil rights movement (and
equally careful to avoid explaining what that means), Wiesel calls
anti-black racism “scandalous and depressing.” But, take heart, black
America, because dear Elie adds “racism as such has vanished from,
the American scene.”
Roll over, Mumia…and tell Leonard Peltier the news.
Wiesel deigns to mention a few more of America’s indiscretions but is
at the ready to explain: “No nation is composed of saints alone. None
is sheltered from mistakes and misdeeds” (more scholarly talk:
“mistakes,” not “policy”). “America is always ready to learn from its
mishaps,” he writes. “Self-criticism remains its second nature.”
This is the territory of madmen and commissars. Who else speaks such
words…and is convinced they speak the truth? Precisely what kind of
man is this professional sufferer, Elie Wiesel? Here are two peeks
behind the myth:
While Wiesel’s documentation of the Nazi Holocaust has earned him
international acclamation and a Nobel Peace Prize, he is not always
predisposed to yield the genocide victim’s spotlight. In 1982, for
example, a conference on genocide was held in Israel with Wiesel
scheduled to be honorary chairman, but the situation became
complicated when the Armenians wanted in. Here’s how Noam Chomsky
described the incident: “The Israeli government put pressure upon
[Wiesel] to drop the Armenian genocide. They allowed the others, but
not the Armenian one. He was pressured by the government to withdraw,
and being a loyal commissar as he is, he withdrew…because the
Israeli government had said they didn’t want Armenian genocide
brought up.” Wiesel went even further, calling up noted Israeli
Holocaust historian, Yehuda Bauer, and pleading with him to also
boycott the conference. “That gives an indication of the extent to
which people like Elie Wiesel were carrying out their usual function
of serving Israeli state interests,” Chomsky explains, “even to the
extent of denying a holocaust, which he regularly does.” Why not
welcome the Armenians, you wonder? Chalk it up to two conspicuous
factors: the need to monopolize the Holocaust(tm) image and the
geopolitical reality that Turkey (the nation responsible for the
Armenian genocide) is a rare and much-needed Muslim ally for Israel.
In Parade, Wiesel also speaks of brave American soldiers bringing
“rays of hope” to the people of Iraq. However, such rays were not
welcome in Central and South America when Israel served as a U.S.
proxy for proving arms to murderous regimes like that of Guatemala.
In 1981, shortly after Israel agreed to provide military aid to this
oppressive regime, a Guatemalan officer had a feature article
published in the army’s Staff College review. In that article, the
officer praised Adolf Hitler, National Socialism, and the Final
Solution-quoting extensively from Mein Kampf and chalking up Hitler’s
anti-Semitism to the “discovery” that communism was part of a “Jewish
conspiracy.” Despite such seemingly incompatible ideology, Israel’s
estimated military assistance to Guatemala in 1982 was $90 million.
What type of policies did the Guatemalan government pursue with the
help they received from a nation populated with thousands of
Holocaust survivors? Consider the words of Gabriel, one of the
Guatemalan freedom fighters interviewed in 1994 by Jennifer Harbury:
“In my country, child malnutrition is close to 85 percent. Ten
percent of all children will be dead before the age of five, and this
is only the number actually reported to government agencies. Close to
70 percent of our people are functionally illiterate. There is almost
no industry in our country-you need land to survive. Less than 3
percent of our landowners own over 65 percent of our lands. In the
last fifteen years or so, there have been over 150,000 political
murders and disappearances. Don’t talk to me about Gandhi; he
wouldn’t have survived a week here.”
Similar stories can be culled from countries throughout the region,
but apparently have had no effect on the rulers of the Jewish state.
For example, when Israel faced an international arms embargo after
the 1967 war, a plan to divert Belgian and Swiss arms to the Holy
Land was implemented. These weapons were supposedly destined for
Bolivia to be transported by a company managed by Klaus Barbie…as
in “The Butcher of Lyon.”
One Jewish figure that might be expected to find fault with such
policy is, of course, Parade cover boy Elie Wiesel. Here is an
episode from mid-1985, documented by Yoav Karni in Ha’aretz, which
should put to rest any exalted expectations of the revered moralist:
When Wiesel received a letter from a Nobel Prize laureate documenting
Israel’s contributions to the atrocities in Guatemala, suggesting
that he use his considerable influence to put a stop to Israel’s
practice of arming neo-Nazis, Wiesel “sighed” and admitted to Karni
that he did not reply to that particular letter. “I usually answer at
once,” he explained, “but what can I answer to him?”
One is left to only wonder how Wiesel’s silent sigh might have been
received if it was in response to a letter not about Jewish
complicity in the murder of Guatemalans but instead about the
function of Auschwitz in 1943.
In Parade, Elie Wiesel claims he discovered in America “the strength
to overcome cynicism and despair.” It sounds like what he’s actually
overcome is honesty and compassion.
Mickey Z. is the author of two brand new books: “The Seven Deadly
Spins: Exposing the Lies Behind War Propaganda” (Common Courage
Press) and “A Gigantic Mistake: Articles and Essays for Your
Intellectual Self-Defense” (Library Empyreal/Wildside Press). For
more information, please visit:

Xinhua, China
July 7 2004
Russian parliament ratifies Euro weapons limitation treaty

MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhuanet) — Russia’s parliament on Wednesday
completed ratification of the amended Treaty on Conventional Forces
in Europe (CFE) which limits the deployment of heavy weapons across
the European continent, the Interfax news agency reported.
The Federation Council, parliament’s upper house, approved it
Wednesday by a vote of 137-1 following ratification by the State
Duma, the lower house of parliament, on June 25 and the treaty now
goes to President Vladimir Putin for signing.
The modified accord could significantly reduce the deployment of
warplanes, tanks and other heavy non-nuclear weapons in Europe. It
will take effect when all 30 signatory countries ratify it.
Under the treaty, Russia can have 6,350 tanks, 11,280 armored
personnel carriers, 6,315 artillery, 3,416 combat aircraft and 885
helicopter gunships.
Russia can also keep its weapons and military hardware in Armenia
and Ukraine under the treaty.
The original CFE treaty was approved in 1990 by the 22 members of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact alliances.
An amended version of the treaty was signed in 1999 following the
collapse of former Soviet Union.
Russia has been particularly concerned about the reluctance of the
four new NATO members — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia —
to ratify the amended version of the treaty.
Some Russian officials fear that if the four do not join the
treaty they could become NATO outposts for nuclear arms or army
bases.
However, NATO argues that until Russian forces and weapons are
pulled back from Georgia and Moldova, they cannot ratify the treaty.
Moscow says its pledge to withdraw forces from the two countries is a
separate issue from the treaty. Enditem