Azeri pundits against Armenian officers’ presence at Baku-hosted NATO
meeting
Ekspress, Baku
23 Jun 04

Text of Telman report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 23 June
headlined “Armenians pursue certain goals in coming to Baku” and
subheaded “According to experts, they are trying to disrupt the NATO
event”
Armenian officers have attended a regular NATO conference which was
held in Baku within the framework of the Partnership for Peace
programme.
Political expert Aydin Agayev thinks that the Armenian officers tried
to disrupt the conference by attending it and damage relations between
our country and this bloc. [Unclear sentence omitted]
Agayev thinks that refusal to cooperate with leading organizations
will bring about Azerbaijan’s isolation as is the case with
neighbouring Iran. However, our interviewee said he was tired of those
organizations’ biased statements and double standards.
Political expert Xaladdin Ibrahimli described the green light to the
Armenians’ arrival in Baku as a mistake.
“I cannot understand how the Armenian officers who have occupied our
lands are allowed to come to Azerbaijan?”
The political experts think that not only individuals, but also
society itself – politicians, NGOs, the intelligentsia and journalists
– should oppose such cases.
The chairman of the supreme council of the Democratic Party of
Azerbaijan [DPA], Nuraddin Mammadli, thinks that protest actions over
the Nagornyy Karabakh problem are not sufficient. However, the DPA
member, who regards cooperation with NATO on military service as
important, does not want to see Azerbaijan and Armenia in the same
organization.
“According to the alliance’s regulations, its member countries should
not attack each other. Under these circumstances, the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem will become less important,” Mammadli said.

CENN – June 23, 2004 Daily Digest
Table of Contents:
Evaluation of CENN – Caucasus Environmental NGO Network Activities
World Group Management Response to the Extractive Industries Review
Vacancy Announcements
1. EVALUATION OF CENN – CAUCASUS ENVIRONMENTAL NGO NETWORK
ACTIVITIES
CENN – Caucasus Environmental NGO Network is conducting evaluation of its
activities and would like to ask you to participate in the study by
answering this checklist as accurately as possible. The information will
help us assess the CENN activities and improve our work in the future. We
ask you to answer the checklist and return it via e-mail till June 28, 2004.
We appreciate your cooperation! Thank you!
The Russian and English Version of the checklists are available on the
following address:
2. World Group Management Response to the Extractive Industries
Review
Dear Colleagues,
Please find a copy of the World Group Management Response to the Extractive
Industries Review. At the direction of CODE (Board Committee on Development
Effectiveness), it was released on June 18, 2004 for a public comment period
of 30 days.
Inga Paichadze
External Affairs
World Bank Office Tbilisi
Tel.: + 995 32 91 30 96 / 91 26 89
Fax: + 995 32 91 34 78
E-mail: [email protected]
The document is available on the following address:
ponse.pdf
3. Vacancy ANNOUNCEMENTs
A. Terms of Reference for Expert in Gender Issues
The Kura-Aras river system is an internationally significant river system,
which is seriously degraded and continues to be threatened. Water scarcity
is an issue at many points in the river system. Water quality and quantity
constraints may increasingly lead to disputes amongst water users over the
coming years. Integrated, multi-country, trans-boundary responses are
necessary to address the threats to the river system, and their underlying
causes. Women participation in water resource management and decision making
is relatively low in region, therefore gender-balanced participation in
managing water resources must be considered and action plan suggested.
Immediate objectives to be achieved
– Analysis of existing databases and information on gender issues
related to water resources management of the Kura-Aras River Basin;
– Identification and analysis of gender issues related to water
resources management of the Kura-Aras River Basin on the basis of
sociological data obtained through sociological study;
– Development of recommendations/action plan for addressing
identified gender issues;
– Mainstreaming the gender into the Programme activities.
Duties and responsibilities
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the UNDP will hire the
Expert in Gender Isuues to perform following:
– Identify role of Men and Women in water resources management in
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan;
– Identify Women’s and men’s relative access to existing resources;
– Analyze constraints to women’s participation within the sector;
– Conduct and coordinate sociological study in Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan; These studies include focus group discussions in two sample
rural locations in each country and interviews with stakeholders;
– Provide methodological support to the study teams in Armenia and
Azerbaijan;
– Ensure the coordination of the studies in all three countries;
– Ensure implementation of planned activities on the site;
– Develop recommendations for addressing identified gender issues;
– Draft a technical report on gender issues;
Qualifications and skills required
– A higher education in relevant field;
– Good knowledge of gender issues in Georgia;
– Familiar with gender issues in water resources management;
– Working experience with gender issues;
– Good computer, communications and administrative skills;
– Fluent in Georgian and Russian, knowledge of English language is a
preference;
– Good organizational and communication skills;
Duration of Assignment
Duration up to three (3) months.
Qualified candidates interested to undertake works under the Terms of
Reference should submit their Curriculum Vitae by ordinary mail, by fax or
electronically no later than Monday, June 28, 2004, 5 p.m. to:
Ms. Nino Malashkhia, Technical Assistant
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 995 32 292742
Fax: 995 32 292742
And
Ms. Mariam Shotadze, UNDP Georgia, Programme Analyst
[email protected]
B. Terms of Reference for Legal Expert
The Kura-Aras river system is an internationally significant river system,
which is seriously degraded and continues to be threatened. Water scarcity
is an issue at many points in the river system. Water quality and quantity
constraints may increasingly lead to disputes amongst water users over the
coming years. Integrated, multi-country, trans-boundary responses are
necessary to address the threats to the river system, and their underlying
causes.
Immediate objectives to be achieved
– To analyze existing water legislation and its effectiveness, with
special focus whether or not the legal conditions for Integrated River Basin
Planning and Management are created;
– To identify major gaps, loopholes, inconsistencies and overlaps;
– To identify inconsistencies in water legislations of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia;
– To find common grounds with EU water directives;
– To identify and prioritize legislative needs;
Duties and responsibilities
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the UNDP will hire the
Legal Expert to perform following:
– Analyze water related legislation and regulations of Georgia;
– Assess the effectiveness of existing legislation, regulations and
their enforcement status;
– Compare national water legislations with EU directives concerning
the Integrated River Basin management and Transboundary Issues;
– Compare national water legislations of Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia with an emphasis on Integrated River Basin Management;
– Identify and prioritize legislative needs;
– Draft a technical report on legislation analysis;
Qualifications and skills required
A degree in law or water resource management;
Good knowledge of water related legislation of Georgia, general
understanding of existing water related legislation of Armenia and
Azerbaijan and EU water directives;
Working experience with legislation issues;
Good computer, communications and administrative skills;
Fluent in Georgian and Russian, knowledge of English language is a
preference
Duration of Assignment
Duration up to three (3) months.
Qualified candidates interested to undertake works under the Terms of
Reference should submit their Curriculum Vitae by ordinary mail, by fax or
electronically no later than Monday, June 28, 2004, 5 p.m. to:
Ms. Nino Malashkhia, Technical Assistant of UNDP/Sida Project, Reducing
Transboundary Degradation of the Kura-Aras River Basin
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 995 32 292742
Fax: 995 32 292742
And
Ms. Mariam Shotadze, UNDP Georgia, Programme Analyst
[email protected]
C. Terms of Reference for Policy and Institutional Expert
The Kura-Aras river system is an internationally significant river system,
which is seriously degraded and continues to be threatened. Water scarcity
is an issue at many points in the river system. Water quality and quantity
constraints may increasingly lead to disputes amongst water users over the
coming years. Integrated, multi-country, trans-boundary responses are
necessary to address the threats to the river system, and their underlying
causes.
Immediate objectives to be achieved
– To analyze existing water policy frameworks and whether or not
Integrated River Basin Planning and Management principles has been applied
in policy documents;
– To analyze if the general socio-economic and long term development
strategies regard the water polices/strategies;
– To analyze the effectiveness of existing water polices, with
special focus on implementation mechanisms and available resources for
implementation;
– To identify and prioritize policy needs;
Duties and responsibilities
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the UNDP will hire the
Policy Expert to perform following:
– Review existing water related polices;
– Assess integration of water polices/strategies into general
socio-economic and long-term development policies;
– Assess the effectiveness of existing policies;
– Identify and prioritize policy needs for Integrated River Basin
Management;
– Identify institutional strengths and weaknesses;
– Identify of institutional needs;
– Draft a technical report on policy and institutional analysis;
Qualifications and skills required
A degree in law or water resource management;
Good knowledge of water related polices of Georgia, general understanding of
existing water related legislation of Armenia and Azerbaijan and EU water
directives;
Good knowledge of present institutional setting in the field of water
resources management;
Working experience with policy and institutional issues;
Good computer, communications and administrative skills;
Fluent in Georgian and Russian, knowledge of English language is a
preference;
Duration of Assignment
Duration up to three (3) months.
Qualified candidates interested to undertake works under the Terms of
Reference should submit their Curriculum Vitae by ordinary mail, by fax or
electronically no later than Monday, June 28, 2004, 5 p.m. to:
Ms. Nino Malashkhia, Technical Assistant
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 995 32 292742
Fax: 995 32 292742
And
Ms. Mariam Shotadze, UNDP Georgia, Programme Analyst
[email protected]
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Virgo’s Lie is hot but Egoyan’s Love is cooler
Screendaily
by Denis Seguin in Toronto
23 June 2004
Summer is always the busiest season for film production. In Canada, where
the summer is as short as it is hot, that makes it busier than most. In
terms of heat, the hottest production by far is Clement Virgo’s new film,
Lie With Me, which started shooting in Toronto on June 16.
Virgo co-wrote the screenplay with Tamara Faith Berger based on her
`brazenly pornographic’ novel. Mark Urman head of theatrical distribution
for THINKFilm, which picked up world rights for the project, is already
making comparisons with sensual sensations of the past. `Clement and
Tamara’s script explores human sexuality with a bravery and honesty not seen
on screen since Bertolucci’s Last Tango In Paris,’ says.
`We are thrilled to be in bed with such a provocative filmmaker and fully
expect Clement, Tamara and their terrific actors [Eric Balfour and Lauren
Lee Smith] to create the most honest, erotic and intimate film about sex
ever made in North America.’ No small feat.
Second perhaps in sensation but higher in prestige is the prospect of a new
film from auteur Atom Egoyan. The heat is on the auteur and in more ways
than one. His previous film, Ararat, a film that explored the historical
impact of genocide, was critically lauded and created its share of
controversy. But it didn’t perform at the box office. The new film, Somebody
Loves You, is a clear departure from weighty subject matter. But it also
offers an opportunity for Egoyan to break from the
`intellectuals-only-need-watch’ track his career has lead him. Based on the
widely-admired novel by Broadway wunderkind Rupert Holmes, the story follows
a young celebrity journalist as she tracks the secrets of a showbiz duo who
were driven apart by a bizarre death in which one of them may have played
the part of murderer. The deeper she digs the more she finds herself
involved with both men and perhaps risking more than she bargained. The
project offers some audience-friendly genre landmarks (1970s LA noir) with
Egoyanesque touchstones like identity confusion. It’s the third novel Egoyan
has adapted (the others were 1997’s The Sweet Hereafter and 1999’s Felicia’s
Journey) but is by far the least depressing. The film starts shooting at the
end of August under Egoyan’s long-time collaborator producer Robert Lantos,
who is a third source of heat. After the failure Norman Jewison’s The
Statement, Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films needs a hit.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri, Iranian chief clerics discuss Karabakh, mutual ties
Azadliq, Baku
23 Jun 04
“I hope your visit will give an impetus to the further strengthening
of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations,” the head of the Azerbaijani
Spiritual Board of the Muslims of the Caucasus, Allahsukur Pasazada,
said at a meeting with Ayatollah Golpayegani, head of the executive
staff of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i.
Saying that religion brings the Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples
closer, Pasazada expressed the hope that it will also enable the two
states to further strengthen political relations. Pasazada talked
about the Nagornyy Karabakh problem and called on official Tehran to
help Azerbaijan generously in this issue. Pasazada touched on the
religious situation and stressed religious tolerance in Azerbaijan. He
said that various religions and faiths were being practised
simultaneously in the country, and spiritual leaders state that their
main aim is to maintain religious stability in the region.
Ayatollah Golpayegani reiterated recent serious progress in
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations and expressed his confidence that these
relations will develop in the future as well. As far as the Karabakh
problem is concerned, Golpayegani said that Armenia had been described
as an aggressor by the Organization of the Islamic Conference which
unites both Iran and Azerbaijan.
[Passage omitted: the guests were given presents]

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
June 23, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC REPORTING INCLUDES TERM: “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”
Turkish Protests Fail to Overturn Editorial Policy
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly commended National Geographic
magazine for continuing to characterize as “genocide,” the events of 1915 in
its July issue, thereby rejecting Turkish accusations of bias following a
22-page report in its March issue entitled, “Armenia Reborn.”
In an introductory note to its “Forum” section, the editors said the March
article and photos, “inspired more than 1,600 letters – the most mail
elicited by any one story in the past five years,” and published four
responses including a joint letter from Armenian Assembly Board of Trustees
Chairman Hirair Hovnanian and Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian.
The editors also reported that the magazine received “hundreds” of positive
letters from the Armenian community.
The Assembly letter said in part:
“[Armenian Reborn] captured the essence of the Armenian identity
historically and the values that animate our people today. As for the
cataclysmic event in our past – the Armenian genocide under cover of World
War I – National Geographic has not only told the truth, but is also in good
company.”
Armenian Assembly Executive Director Ross Vartian, along with Public Affairs
Director David Zenian and ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian, also expressed
appreciation and praise for the magazine report during a face-to-face
meeting with Washington editors in March.
The magazine’s last major report on Armenia was published in 1978.
In addition to the subject of the genocide, “Armenia Reborn,” written by
Frank Viviano and photographed by Alexandra Avakian, looks at the 3,000 year
history of Armenians and leads up to current events including independence,
the 1988 earthquake and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
But it was the magazine’s coverage of the Armenian Genocide and by
extension, Turkey-Armenia relations, which sparked a Turkish outcry. Both
the Turkish government and Turkish lobby in the United States voiced their
criticism, mounting a worldwide letter-writing campaign challenging
accuracies in the story. The publishers of the magazine’s Turkish language
edition excluded “Armenia Reborn” from their March issue.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-060
Editor’s Note: Below is the published text of the Armenian Assembly letter
to National Geographic editors.
March 12, 2004
William L. Allen
Editor in Chief
National Geographic
1145 17th Street
Washington, DC 20036.
Dear Sir:
The article captured the essence of the Armenian identity historically and
the values that animate our people today. As for the cataclysmic event in
our past – the Armenian Genocide under cover of World War I – NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC has not only told the truth, but is also in good company. One
hundred and twenty-six Holocaust and Genocide scholars signed a petition on
March 7, 2000, calling the Armenian genocide “an incontestable historical
fact.” As recently as February 2003, the International Center for
Transitional Justice concluded that what happened to the Armenians includes
“all the elements of the crime of genocide … and legal scholars as well
as historians, politicians, journalists and other people would be justified
in continuing to so describe them.” The “controversy” today lies squarely
with the Turkish government as it continues to attempt to coerce the world
to be complicit in its denial. Turkey’s aspiration to be fully accepted as a
full member of European society will not be realized without facing its own
history – just as coming to terms with the destruction of Native Americans
and the stain of slavery made America what it is today: more humane and
just.
Sincerely,
Hirair Hovnanian
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Anthony Barsamian
Chairman, Board of Directors
Armenian Assembly of America

The Journal News.com, NY
June 23 2004
Team USA brings message to Yonkers
By CHRISTOPHER HUNT
YONKERS – Ron Siler remembered it – the small, hot gym. The walls
covered in fight mottos and pictures of former champions. He could
remember the musty smell of sweat.
He smiled when he thought of it. He had been there. He was much like
the kids that now looked at him like a rock star but probably didn’t
know his name.
But his warmup jacket read “USA Boxing.” That was enough.
Siler, along with the rest of the U.S. Olympic boxing team, visited
the Yonkers Police Athletic League yesterday to give youngsters hope
that success is attainable.
“I’ve probably seen the same things they’ve seen,” said Siler, a
flyweight (112 pounds). “I hope that by us coming here and
representing the United States, that’ll hopefully have a positive
effect on them that they can make it.”
Siler, 24, has four children and remembers growing up on the streets
of Knoxville, Tenn. He thought his experience could help the younger
boxers relate to him, and that his message would be clear.
“If you have dreams, stick to them,” he said. “As long as you stay
positive, you’ll make it in something.”
Vanes Martirosyan (152) stood in a corner after signing autographs,
telling the teen-agers surrounding him to stay focused. He fielded
questions about training and fighting but forced in reminders about
not quitting.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” said Martirosyan, who was born
in Armenia but moved to Glendale, Calif., when he was 4 and started
boxing at 7.
“If you want to be the best, you can be the best.”
Chazz McDowell, a 14-year-old fighter who started boxing at 8, asked
Martirosyan how many rounds he fought and if he had to run as part of
training.
“I hate running,” McDowell said, but he listened when Martirosyan
stressed its importance.
USA Boxing president John Woluewich of New Rochelle thought it would
be beneficial for the kids to see athletes with similar backgrounds.
“I wanted to show them that they can reach their dreams the same way
these guys did,” Woluewich said.
Sal Corrente, who runs the PAL boxing program, echoed the idea.
“A lot of these guys come from really bad neighborhoods and (the
kids) see guys like them who go on and make a name for themselves,”
he said.
Two-time Golden Gloves champ Angel Torres (125) worked out alongside
a few of the boxers and said seeing the Olympians motivates him to do
better.
“Most of those guys come off the streets like me, so I’m glad to see
them doing well,” said Torres, a 20-year old from Yonkers who lost in
the semifinals at the Eastern trials.
With the American flag painted onto his white Nikes, Andre Direll sat
on the edge of the ring happy to sign posters for kids who ran into
the gym after playing basketball.
Direll was raised by his grandparents in Flint, Mich., and used
boxing to stay out of trouble. His grandfather brought him to the gym
as a 10-year-old.
“I kept trying to quit,” Direll said. “But he just kept making me go
to the gym.”
Direll said his grandfather always provided him with encouraging
words and thinks that is what kids need to succeed.
“It’s always a boost of confidence to know I’m showing kids that
there’s more to do than hang out on the street,” he said. “I like to
know I have more fans.”
Still, the parting words that Martirosyan gave to the young, aspiring
boxers in the corner summed up the message of hope.
“See you in the future,” he said as he walked away.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 23 2004
Azeri Foreign Ministry Refutes Parliamentary Speaker’s Statement
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted a statement by the
parliamentary speaker, Murtuz Aleskerov, that Armenian officers
arrived in Baku secretly, ANS reported on Wednesday.
The ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov had made a
statement about the Armenians’ expected visit three days before the
Baku-hosted planning conference for NATO’s `Cooperative Best
Effort-2004′ military exercises began on Tuesday.
The exercises are planned to be held in Azerbaijan in September.
The arrival of the Armenian officers, Colonel Murad Isakhanyan and
Senior Lieutenant Aram Hovhanesian, caused outcry among ordinary
Azeri citizens, with a group of activists from Karabakh Liberation
Organization breaking into the hall of Baku’s Europe hotel where the
planning conference was taking place. As a result, the work of the
conference stopped for about ten minutes.
Reinforced police forces eventually forced the protestors out of the
hotel, arresting 12 people, including the KLO chairman Akif Naghi.
Police said a criminal case has been filed into five of the detainees
who are accused of hooliganism.

MOSNEWS, Russia
June 23 2004
Journalist Sues Russian Pop Idol Over Public Outburst
Russian pop star Filipp Kirkorov is being sued by Irina Aroyan, a
Russian journalist whom he had insulted at a press conference in the
South Russian city of Rostrov-on-Don. The preliminary consultation in
the process is scheduled for June 29 and the hearings are to start on
July 5.
Aroyan filed a suit under the article 130 part 2 of the Russian
Criminal Code which stipulates responsibility for insults and
degrading someone’s honor and dignity. The journalist is seeking a
punishment in the form of correctional labor – if sentenced, 20
percent of the singer’s income will be confiscated by the state for a
certain period of time.
The legal move was caused by Kirkorov’s behaviour at a press
conference in Rostov-on-Don on May 20. `Gazeta Dona’ journalist Irina
Aroyan asked Kirkorov why he has recorded so many cover versions
lately, wondering if he had a shortage of original material. Kirkorov
responded with a string of obscenities. Among other things, he
questioned Aroyan’s professionalism, said that he was `sick of [her]
pink sweater,’ made sexually suggestive comments, and made fun of her
Armenian accent, telling her that she should `learn to speak Russian’
before coming to press conferences with stars. He then ordered her to
leave the hall.
According to Aroyan, she was then cornered and threatened by two of
Kirkorov’s bodyguards who broke her camera and promised to `shut her
mouth’.
After the story appeared in the Russian media (first hitting Internet
news sites and then spreading to television and the paper press). The
New-York based Russian language newspaper Novoye Russkoye Slovo
published a report of a concert in New York City’s Radio City Music
Hall which Kirkorov had been hosting.
According to the paper, Kirkorov repeatedly voiced provocative and
insulting remarks, many of them of an anti-Semitic character. When
the world-famous philanthropist Dr. Ruth Westheimer came on the stage
to greet the performers, Kirkorov made some sexually explicit
remarks. When the US senator Chuck Schumer presented his speech to
the Russian-speaking population of the city, Kirkorov kept talking
simultaneously with him, pretending to translate the words of the
politician but instead commenting suggestively about women he could
see among the audience.
Novoye Russkoye Slovo writes that top boxing brothers Vitaly and
Vladimir Klichko had to interfere to silence the showman.
Filipp Kirkorov is one of Russia’s highest-profile pop stars and the
husband of the legendary singer Alla Pugacheva. He has long had a
scandalous reputation for arrogant behavior and has had a number of
run-ins with journalists, but he has always come out with his
popularity intact.

Bellona, UK
June 23 2004
EU is freezing 100m euros of aid to Armenia after refusal to shut
down its nuclear plant.
“Our position of principle is that nuclear power plants should not be
built in highly active seismic zones.”
It was said by Alexis Loeber, head of the EU’s delegation in Armenia,
BBC reported. The European Union, as part of its general policy
seeking the closure of elderly nuclear plants constructed in
territories of the former Soviet Union, agreed to give the grant aid
($122m) to Armenia for finding alternative energy sources and for
helping with decommissioning costs at the plant. In return, the
government in Yerevan would commit to a definite date for the plant’s
closure. “We cannot force Armenia to close the plant,” says the EU’s
Mr Loeber. “We feel that should definitely be well in advance of the
end of Metsamor’s design lifecycle in 2016.” The Metsamor plant has
no secondary containment facilities, a safety requirement of all
modern reactors, BBC reported.
Another concern is that due to border and railway closures with
surrounding territories, nuclear material to feed the plant is flown
into Armenia from Russia. “It is the same as flying around a
potential nuclear bomb,” says Mr Loeber. “It’s an extremely hazardous
exercise.” Areg Galstyan, the country’s deputy minister of power,
says $50m has been spent on upgrading safety at Metsamor. “It was a
big mistake to shut the plant in 1988,” says Mr Galstyan. “It created
an energy crisis and the people and economy suffered. Electricity
industry specialists say that due to the expansion and updating of
existing thermal and hydro-energy plants, the country has become an
electricity exporter in recent years. A major new power source will
come on stream in 2006 when a pipeline supplying gas from
neighbouring Iran is due to be completed, BBC reported.
At the same time PACE prepared four documents urging to close the
station. Despite some calls of international organizations to close
the station, the Armenian government did not respond to them.
European Union many times suggested Armenia to close Metsamor but
Armenia rejected them. As a result, European Union had to impose an
economic sanction on Armenia by refusing to allocate $100 million.
the
Armenian Trade Minister Chshmaritian reiterated Yerevan’s rejection
of the offer, saying that as much as $1 billion is needed for safely
shutting down Metsamor safely and putting in place an alternative
source of inexpensive energy. He added the Armenia-EU body decided to
set up a working group that will look into the issue in detail and
present its findings by the end of this year, Baku Today reports.
The Metsamor Nuclear Power plant produced 1.9 billion kilowatt hours
of electricity in 2003, or 36 percent of the total generation of
electricity in Armenia. ZAO Inter RAO UES, a subsidiary of Russia’s
Unified Energy System, and Armenia signed a contract in September
2003 to hand over trust management of the plant to Inter RAO UES.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 23 2004
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR MEETS MEMBERS OF MM’S DELEGATION TO PABSEC
[June 23, 2004, 20:01:08]
Ambassador of Israel to Azerbaijan Eytan Naye met members of the
Milli Majlis /MM/ delegation to Parliamentary Assembly of the
Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation /PABSEC/.
Deputy Chair of the MM Standing Commission on Regional Affairs, Chair
of the PABSEC Committee on Cultural Affairs Shaiddin Aliyev informed
the Ambassador on the recent Assembly meeting in Jerusalem, and
pointed out its importance for the two countries. Touching upon our
country’s position in the region, Shaiddin Aliyev told of the
problems caused by the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands, role
of international structures and parliaments, as well as Diaspora
organizations in the settlement of the conflict.
Deputy Chair of the MM Standing Commission on Economic Policy Ali
Alirzayev noted the importance of expanding inter-parliamentary
cooperation and stressed Azerbaijan’s interest in development of
links with Israel.
Ambassador Eytan Naye noted that his country shows particular
interest in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan. He also announced
that the Speaker of Israeli Parliament had sent to the Milli Majlis
Chairman a letter inviting its parliamentary delegation to visit
Jerusalem.
During the meeting, a number of other issues of mutual interest were
discussed, as well.