Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met yesterday in Prague with his Azerbaijani counterpart to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Officially, the discussions achieved no breakthroughs, but both men agreed to meet again in the near future. In an interview with RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Oskanian said a lot remains to be done before both sides can agree on the basic principles of a peace settlement.
11 January 2005 -- The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are meeting in the Czech capital Prague today to discuss the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia and Georgia signed an agreement today on opening a direct railway ferry between the Black Sea ports of Poti and Kavkaz. Direct railway connections between the two countries have been halted since 1992 amid a dispute over the secessionist region of Abkhazia. The Poti-Kavkaz ferry is not only important for Russia and Georgia. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries are expected to benefit from the new link.
Azerbaijani President Aliyev (file photo) Baku, 4 January 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said efforts to resolve the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region are entering a new, positive, phase.
4 January 2005 -- Azerbaijan's leading opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat" yesterday ceased publication due to financial problems.
3 January 2005 -- Azerbaijan's leading opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat" ceased publication today due to financial problems.
21 December 2004 -- Police today broke up a rally in Baku that had been called to protest official restrictions on freedom of assembly.
17 December 2004 -- Voting is continuing today in Azerbaijan, with citizens casting ballots to elect local officials to some 2,700 municipal councils.
13 December 2004 -- Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has called upon the Council of Europe, the European Union, and the United Nations to do more to help his country settle a long-running territorial dispute with neighboring Armenia.
Viktor Yushchenko (file photo) On 11 December, doctors announced that Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko has been suffering from the effects of dioxin poisoning. The news appeared to put an end to months of speculation about the mystery illness that has disfigured Yushchenko's face. But it did not come from doctors in Kyiv. It came from Vienna, where Yushchenko has sought medical care since falling ill on the presidential campaign trail in September. His case, however, highlights numerous other examples of leaders in the former communist world who travel abroad for medical care. Why do they do it? Is it simply due to decrepit post-Soviet health care? Or are these leaders worried about their citizens discovering the true state of their frail health?
Azerbaijan's foreign minister has urged the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution expressing concern over alleged Armenian settlements in territories seized 10 years ago. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told the assembly that thousands of ethnic Armenians have resettled in Azerbaijani districts near the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. But Armenia's UN ambassador denied any such activities. He told the assembly that the bid for a UN resolution could undermine an ongoing process directed by the OSCE.
Azerbaijan is hoping a proposed UN General Assembly resolution on its occupied territory will help resolve a key impediment to peace talks with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The resolution, to be discussed today (eds: 1600 Prague time), calls for reaffirming Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and seeks an investigation into Azerbaijani claims Armenia is promoting a settlement policy in the occupied lands. Armenia denies this and has said such a resolution could undermine the peace process.
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