From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Mon Jun 17 2002 - 12:34:17 EDT
ASPIAN NEWS AGENCY
CNA all-inclusive newsline
/16:56 17.06.2002/ NATO trainings start at Vaziani camp
Tbilisi, June 17, 2002. (CNA). Exercise Cooperative Best Effort 2002, which is
planned as part of the annual NATO/Partnership for Pease Program, starts today at
Vaziani Camp, close to Tbilisi.
Nearly 600 troops from 6 NATO and 9 partner countries participate in the drills,
which is designed to allow exercise participants to exchange light infantry skills
in a variety of peace support operations.
"Exercise Cooperative Best Effort 2002 was scheduled several years ago, as part of
the partnership work programme and certainly has no links wit any real world
events", Col Labbe, co-director of Exercise CBE 2002, stated at the initial
press-conference on June 15.
The first time Partnership for Peace exercise was held in Georgia was in Poti
(seaside town in western Georgia) in June last year and it was mainly oriented on
naval trainings. This time the program is oriented on land exercise.
Vaziani military base used to be occupied by Russian troops. They had to leave it
last June according to 1999 Istanbul agreement. Turkish Defense Ministry made a
great effort to modernize the base, Civil Georgia says.
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/16:48 17.06.2002/ Karabakh's Foreign Minister visiting USA
Stepanakert, June 17, 2002. (CNA). Nagorno Karabagh Republic Foreign Minister Naira
Melkoumian thanked the Members of Congress for their steadfast support for the
people of Nagorno Karabagh, during a Congressional reception Wednesday (June 12)
co-hosted by congressional Armenian Caucus Co-chairs Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and
Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and co-sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of
America and the Armenian Assembly of America, Nagorno Karabagh Republic Office in
the United States said.
AZG reports that several Congressmen, including Reps. David Bonior (D-MI), Patrick
Kennedy (D-RI), Connie Morella (R-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Joe
Wilson (R-SC) and congressional staff members joined Representative Pallone and
Representative Knollenberg in welcoming the foreign minister. Ambassador Arman
Kirakossian represented the government of Armenia.
The reception followed a series of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill and with the
Administration in which Melkoumian emphasized the necessity for continued U.S.
assistance to the people of Nagorno Karabagh and early implementation of confidence
building measures (CBM) between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan.
Addressing the reception quests, Foreign Minister Melkoumian thanked the many
congressional friends of Nagorno Karabagh for their steadfast support and ongoing
U.S. assistance. Minister Melkoumian also stressed the important role the Armenian
American community plays in educating U.S. officials about Nagorno Karabagh and in
ensuring that the search for a peaceful resolution to the Karabagh conflict remains
a priority on the congressional agenda.
"Resolution of this conflict is critical to peace, stability, democracy and
economic development in the South Caucasus. NKR looks forward to continued
cooperation with our U.S. colleagues towards achieving this shared vision," said
Minister Melkoumian.
Representative Knollenberg, who introduced the Foreign Minister, described the
ongoing U.S. direct humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabagh, noting that Congress is
monitoring the $20 million assistance program very closely. Representative
Knollenberg, who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations, stressed that he will work to ensure that U.S. assistance to Nagorno
Karabagh continues in the FY2003 aid cycle.
Foreign Minister Melkoumian is in Washington, DC for a week-long series of meetings
with the Administration, Congress, think tanks, media and the Armenian American
community.
______
/16:47 17.06.2002/ South Korea interested in developing oil fields on Kazakh
Caspian Shelf
Astana, June 17, 2002. (CNA). A consortium of South Korean companies plans to
participate in the development of oil fields in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian
Sea, South Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Che Syng-ho said after a meeting with
Kazakh Prime Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov.
He said that the consortium contains five leading companies from the Korean energy
complex that are successfully working abroad, including Samsung, Tesong and Songen.
The ambassador, having noted that the consortium has only recently been set up and
has just started to study the Kazakh oil and gas sector, did not name any concrete
fields that are of interest to the Korean side, Interfax reports.
"The Kazakh prime minister positively received the wishes of Korea to participate
in investment projects in the oil and gas sector in the republic, but also
expressed the hope that business people in that country would also show interest in
other branches of the economy, particularly in the area of processing agricultural
produce and in information technology.
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