From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Tue Jun 25 2002 - 12:51:15 EDT
CASPIAN NEWS AGENCY
CNA all-inclusive newsline
/18:54 25.06.2002/ Turkey is ready to make its positive contribution to process of
Karabakh conflict settlement
Baku, June 25, 2002. (CNA). Turkey is ready to make its positive contribution to
the process of the Karabakh conflict settlement, the Turkish foreign minister
Ismail Cem said while commenting the results of his meeting with the Azeri
president Heydar Aliyev.
During the meeting the sides focused their attention in possible assistance of
Turkey in stabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus and settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, in particular.
The Turkish foreign minister called for continuation of trilateral
Armenian-Azeri-Turkish dialog on the level of foreign ministers started in
Reykjavik.
______
/18:49 25.06.2002/ Armenia and Lithuania signed military cooperation agreement
Yerevan, June 25, 2002. (CNA). The Armenian president Robert Kocharian, who is on
his official visit to Vilnus singed an Agreement on military cooperation between
Armenia and Lithuania. From the Lithuanian side the agreement was signed by
president of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus.
At the press conference held after the signing ceremony the both presidents
refrained from going into details on the signed agreement. According to the
Armenian president during the meeting the sides also discussed ways of development
of economic cooperation.
______
/17:46 25.06.2002/ Turkish-Armenian Work Council meets ahead of BSEC meeting
Ankara, June 25, 2002. (CNA). The Turkish-Armenian Work Council (TEIK) Working
Group, composed of Turkish, Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani businessmen and
academics gathered in Istanbul ahead of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
meeting.
After the two-day TEIK working group meeting at the Surmeli Hotel, which was closed
to press, TEIK Deputy Chairman Noyan Soyak told the Anatolian News Agency that
economists, academics and businessmen from the four countries attended the meeting.
Soyak, stating that the meeting was held in order to review the situation and to
seek cooperation possibilities in the Caucasus, added, "the borders are still
closed and there are also some obstacles to cooperation."
Soyak said that these meetings would continue and that they have formed working
groups for this reason. He explained the main goal of the meeting was to gather
businessmen and academics from the regional countries.
Soyak also said that the group had intentionally gathered before the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting so that the results of the meeting could be
conveyed by the representatives to the delegations and officials of the four
countries.
Stating that the Azerbaijani and Armenian attendants had established a good
dialogue, Soyak pointed out that they had discussed the access way between the
Caucasus and Europe. He also said that they had handled the issue of how all the
countries could utilize this European Union project and that they had reached a
consensus on cooperation relating to the Caucasus-Europe access way.
Soyak stated that tax and custom issues had also come on the meeting's agenda and
added that they have decided to form a joint web site.
______
/17:43 25.06.2002/ Shah Deniz partners expected this year to approve phase one of
the field's development
Baku, June 25, 2002. (CNA). BP and Statoil, the major partners in a project to
export natural gas from Azerbaijan's massive Shah Deniz field to Turkey, said this
week their gas would be sufficiently competitive to find a buyer in Turkey's
already overcrowded gas market, AFP reports.
The oil companies were countering warnings from within the industry that with
Turkey suffering negative economic growth, it is already committed to importing
more gas than it can use without extra volumes from Azerbaijan.
"The (Shah Deniz) field is favourably located towards the Turkish market in terms
of transportation," said Georg Gundersen, President of Statoil Azerbaijan.
"The Turkish economy is now recovering from a crisis and we are confident of the
competitiveness of Azerbaijani gas in a market which will be transformed by
economic reform, private investments and liberalisation."
A spokeswoman for BP in the Azeri capital Baku accepted that the Turkish market was
"contracted for several regional producers and is potentially over-supplied during
the period 2005-2010."
But she added: "We believe Shah Deniz has a competitive advantage due to its
proximity to the market and hence the low cost of supply."
The Shah Deniz partners are expected this year to approve phase one of the field's
development, including the start of large-scale gas production and the construction
of a gas pipeline from Baku to the Turkish city of Erzurum.
The cost of the project, including the pipeline, is estimated by the members of the
consortium at 2.5 billion dollars (2.577 billion euros).
Turkey has signed a sales and purchase agreement comitting it to buy six billion
cubic metres of Azeri gas a year.
______
/14:37 25.06.2002/ Ukraine claims Uzbekistan not to leave GUUAM
Istanbul, June 25, 2002. (CNA). The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Anatoli Zlenko
stated in Istanbul that Uzbekistan's statements on its intentions to leave GUUAM
were misinterpreted.
During the informal meeting of Georgian, Azerbaijani, Moldavian and Ukrainian
Foreign Ministers Zlenko stated that "Uzbekistan does not intend to pull out from
the organization." He also added that soon the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan would
release a new statement that will clarify misunderstanding.
As it was reported earlier on June 14 the Uzbek Foreign Ministry Abdulaziz Kamilov
came forward with a statement saying that Tashkent was intented to leave GUUAM
because it saw no progress on the tasks set by the organization.
GUUAM was formed in 1997 as a political, economic and strategic alliance.
______
/14:22 25.06.2002/ Ex-Armenian President could run in upcoming presidentian
elections
Yerevan, June 25, 2002. (CNA). Ex-Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian
could probably run in presidential elections in 2003, Ter- Petrosian's press
secretary Levon Zurabian told Interfax.
Leader of the Armenian National Movement Levon Ter-Petrosian resigned from the
presidential post in 1998 because of disagreements that split the country's
leadership on ways to settle the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The press secretary also said Ter-Petrosian, "who has abandoned politics, is
currently writing a book about connections between the Kilikian Armenia and the
crusaders."
______
/13:06 25.06.2002/ International Conference "Caucasus Without Drugs" started in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi, June 25, 2002. (CNA). A two day international conference "Caucasus Without
Drugs" started its work today in Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Turkey and the United States arrived in Tbilisi to participate in the conference.
Representatives of the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, the European
Union and the Council of Europe will as well took part in the works of the
conference.
The Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is expected to address the participants
of the forum on June 26.
As a result of discussions the participates of the conference will work out the
draft of joint declaration, that will be the bases for the anti-drug regional
project.
______
/12:50 25.06.2002/ Kazakhstan is ready to take part in construction of major
Central Asian gas main
Beijing, June 25, 2002. (CNA). Kazakhstan is ready to take part in construction of
a major Central Asian gas pipeline as part of the China's West-East gas pipeline
project, the Kazakh Vice-Prime Minister Karim Masimov said.
The pipeline will bring gas from the Tarim gas fields in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
area to consumers in Greater Shanghai. Masimov and the president of the Chinese
National Oil and Gas Corporation, Ma Fucai, on Monday, "exchanged views on the
construction of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, Central Asia to China, and its
further connection to the West-East gas pipeline", IRNA reported.
Astana and Beijing have been negotiating cooperation in the fuel and energy sector,
particularly the construction of oil and gas pipelines, for a long time, Masimov
said.
"I have been instructed to continue these negotiations at the working level in
order to translate them into reality later", he said. Negotiations on the
constructions of a gas pipeline from Western
Kazakhstan to China have also been underway for a long time. "We received a
confirmation from the president of the Chinese National Oil and Gas Corporation
that China wants this project to be continued", Masimov said.
The sides also discussed possibke investments to Kazakhstan's petrochemical
industry.
______
/12:30 25.06.2002/ Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers to meet in Istanbul
within the framework of BSEC summit
Istanbul, June 25, 2002. (CNA). The Istanbul Ciragan Hotel will host a key meeting
of the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers, Ismail Cem and Vartan Oskanyan. The
two foreign ministers will have breakfast together with their head officials. The
groundwork for the meeting was laid during successive talks between the senior
diplomats of Armenia and Turkey, Karen Mirzoyan and Ertan Tezgor.
A senior Turkish official briefed the Turkish Daily News (TDN) about the recent
meeting, stating that delegations from each of the countries have been discussing
the problem in the Caucasus. Drawing attention to the text that every conciliation
in the Caucasus will encourage the Armenian side to take further steps for better
relation, the source indicated that Turkey aims to contribute to peace in the
Caucasus. It was hoped that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev would also
be included in the Turkish-Armenian foreign ministers meeting, however, Guliyev was
taking part in another meeting and could not attend.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was also expected to receive the co-chairmen of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group late
Monday night.
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