OFFICIAL NEWS
Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, sent a congratulatory letter to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, on the victory of United Russia Party headed by him in the elections to the State Duma of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
According to Aliyev, "this win is evidence of the active support and trust by the Russians for your political aim to strengthen the statehood and sovereignty of the country, as well as democratic reforms in all fields of life, cementing Russia's position and the image on the international arena. "I am sure, the unity of the Russian people demonstrated in the elections, consolidation around country's leading political force "United Russia" Party will create reliable grounds to successfully realize the programs you impose," President of Azerbaijan said in his letter. "I am confident that our joint efforts will promote further progress of our people and countries, peace, security and stability in the region to develop interstate relations, a goodwill neighborhood and strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia," Aliyev said.
FOREIGN POLICY
The Turkish Embassy in Israel intends to support and provide assistance to Diaspora projects, as well as to humanitarian and cultural programs initiated by the Congress of Azerbaijan in Middle East, Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namig Tan said at a meeting with the representatives of the Congress in Tel-Aviv on 2 December.
As for bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Ambassador noted the unity of language, culture and mentality, and said that these relations are based on the principle of 'one nation, two states'. " Azerbaijan and Turkey have a common history. Our nations were living together and creating together for many centuries. Our traditions, culture, language, roots are a powerful ground for further development," the President of the Congress Alex Shapiro-Suliman said.
Turkish Ambassador highly appreciated the participation of the Congress's representatives in the 9th Meeting of Friendship, Fraternity and Cooperation of Turkic States and Communities which took place in Azerbaijan and noted that the meeting was a very prominent event for the entire Turkic world. "Today all Turkish and Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations in all countries act jointly and they stick to a unified position. In order to prevent the measures intended against Azerbaijan and Turkey they use each other's opportunities and take a rather valid joint position on important strategic issues," Tan said. He stressed that in the Congress he sees genuine representatives of the Turkic world's lobby who are ready to protect the interests of Azerbaijan and Turkey in this strategic region in the world.
According to the Turkish Ambassador, Turkey and Azerbaijan are rare countries and well-organized, well-financed Armenian lobby opposes them. "World's Armenians hold a campaign against us. They make groundless accusations and claims against us. They make hostile steps, which cannot keep us indifferent. We should be ready. We should confront it with our policy, our truth, our propaganda, our force," the Turkish diplomat said.
The Tbilisi City Court has released Dashgin Gulmammadov, the Head of the Election Office of Azerbaijan, Fazil Aliyev, who is a candidate for the presidency in Georgia.
The Court took into consideration an appeal made by the Georgian Prosecutor-General. Gulmammadov was imprisoned in the isolation cell of the National Independent Ministry of Georgia. According to him, Gulmammadov was accused of making insulting remarks on the internet. However, Aliyev considers that the accusations are false and groundless. "The arrest was aimed at preventing my election campaign and they have achieved this. The Government has practically destroyed my election campaign," Aliyev said.
Aliyev's candidature was registered to take part in the upcoming presidential elections in Georgia on 5 January 2008.
The Georgian law enforcement bodies could not oppose the pressure put on by the Azerbaijani community and public organizations which demonstrated against Gulmammadov's detention.
The Azerbaijani Governemnt is demanding from international organizations an investigation into the information about the military of the Kuyrdistan Worker's Party in the Azerbaijani occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territory by Armenians.
"The world community and international organizations must pay special attention to the problem and investigate the information," Novruz Mammadov, the head of the International Relations Department of the Azerbaijani Executive Administration, stated.
Recently the Turkish press repeatedly published information that the Kurdistan Worker's Party, which is currently withdrawn from the north of Iraq, is looking for a new base and Armenian members of the organization allocated them to the Azerbaijani occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territory. Official Yerevan allowed the allocation of military bases in Armenia.
According to Mammadov, Azerbaijan has proven that Armenia illegally allocates Armenians and Kurds of Syrian and Iraqi origin to Nagorno-Karabakh, and is now planning to allocate militaries of the Kurdistan Worker's Party. Armenia must be made answerable before international organizations in the case of the information being confirmed," Mammadov said.
Recent activity of the terrorist organization in the north of Iraq and Turkey alarms Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Turkey approved mutual support and cooperation in the struggle against terrorism during the latest visit of the Turkish President and Prime Minister to Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani authorities do not see the need to inform the public about the process of resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Some political parties and movements in Azerbaijan called upon the authorities to make the talks over the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict public.
"At present we have nothing to make public, because no serious decision was taken towards the final peace agreement," Novruz Mammadov, the head of the International Relations Department of the Azerbaijani President's Administration, said.
According to Mammadov, mediators at the present time only present different proposals to the sides and nothing else.
United States business and scientific circles considers GUAM ( Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) one of the stronger international organizations. Such a statement was made at the conference Regional Cooperation in Caspian and Black Seas region dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the establishment of GUAM in New York on 4 December, Agshin Mehtiyev, a permanent representative of Azerbaijan in the UN, said from New York on 5 December.
The conference was held in New York University. Attending the conference were political scientists and representatives of leading American Universities. GUAM countries were represented by Azerbaijani and Ukrainian, Georgian and Moldova permanent representatives to the UN.
Mehtiyev first delivered a speech at the conference. He spoke about GUAM's function, as well as successes of the organization achieved recently. Mehtiyev informed of Azerbaijan's policy on diversification of energy supply, cooperation in this sphere with GUAM partners and international organizations.
The lasting conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan causes serious problems and hinders regional cooperation in the region.
Participants of the conference discussed joint economic planning and development issues of GUAM member-countries, as well as GUAM's place in the system of global energy diversification and frozen conflicts.
Without the consent of Azerbaijan, Russia does not make any decisions on the joint use of the Gabala Radar Station with any other country, said the Ambassador of Russia to Azerbaijan, Vasili Istratov, on 5 December.
" Moscow is continuing talks with Washington on this issue and Azerbaijan will absolutely be pre-notified of any decision being made," the Ambassador said.
Russia is currently leasing the Gabala Radio Radar Station in Azerbaijan. The station is part of the Russian system in tracking the movement of ballistic missiles. In mid summer Russia proposed to jointly use the Russian-leased Azerbaijani Gabala Radar Station with the USA on the basis that they do not go ahead with their missile-defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"The USA has repeatedly demonstrated an interest in receiving information from radar stations, including the Gabala Radar station, which Russia has," Istratov said.
The regional organization GUAM uniting Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova does not plan to create unified armed forces, the Secretary General of GUAM Valeriy Chechelashvili said to journalists in Tokyo on 5 December. Chechelashvili is visiting Japan as head of the delegation including National Coordinators of GUAM member countries, ITAR-TASS reported.
"We do not plan that. However, members of the organization are discussing opportunities to create military units which will take part in peacekeeping operations in case the UN applies to GUAM," Chechelashvili said.
According to a member of the delegation, who is the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Veselovski, GUAM is different by its openness and readiness to cooperate with all partners possessing European democratic and market values. "Our organization is ready for cooperation with all, including Russia. We consider regional cooperation as an important element in the development of world economy," he said.
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Work over the document on basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution will be continued at the beginning of 2008, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian ForiegnMInister, said as a result of talks with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian, ITAR-TASS reports.
"Periodically there rises issue on the necessity of ensuring progress in the resolution of the conflict and unsettlement of the conflict maintains risks and threats, he said. The conflict has no military solution. All efforts of the world community on behalf of the Minsk Group are directed at assisting the sides in search of mutually acceptable solution to the conflict and ruling out military solution to the problem, he said.
The minister said that it was confirmed at an important meeting in Madrid within the framework of OSCE. "The co-chairs informed the sides about their unified position, which assumes impossibility of military resolution and calls to avoiding any actions and statements which allow such opportunity," Lavrov said.
The head of the Islamic Commission on Human Rights Mahsud Shajare believes that Vahhabism is not a radical Islamic teaching.
"Vahhabits describe the people who are do not agree with their ideas as kaffir (atheist, unbeliever) and according to their religion they believe they have the right to deprive the so-called kaffirs of life," he said.
Vahhabism is a religious and political movement which was founded in the 18th Century in Central Arabia, Nejd. The movement launched its activities under the slogan of 'Depuration of Islam', 'Returning to Norms of the Prophet's Period' and 'Unification of Arabs against Ottoman Caliphate'.
Vahhabism, as other terms, is used for harbouring radical ideas. For some people this word has different meanings. Vahhabism, Salafism - the meaning of these terms should be clarified," Shajare said.
According to Islamic standards, people have a right to different thinking and may follow different scientific schools (teachings), but they must not deprive other people of that right. Vahhabism rejects opinions from others and that has nothing in common with Islam, Shajare said.
Many Vahhabism postulates go beyond the boundaries of Islam, he said. "It is what caused the events of 11 September in the United States and an explosion in a metro in England. That is disgusting and illegal and I do not think it is radicalism; it is rather a reaction to something. Vahhabits stick to the concept of 'goal justifies the means', but in Islam a goal never justifies the means. Our life is in the hands of God," Shajare said. "There are many other groups which follow an ideology in order to kill people. We should fight and protest against this. We should unify to solve the problem," he said.
Shajare considers the spread of sects popularized by definite scientific schools teaching Islam in recent years to be a dangerous event. Citing the war in Iraq, Shajare noted that as a result of the development of such sects, everyday hundreds civilians die in Iraq, Shiites and Sunnites etc. "The invasion of Iraq caused the development of sectarianism and the occupiers bear the responsibility for that," he said.
Islam is a very diverse religion, of which one should be proud. However, several teachings still represent themselves as Islamic. "We should oppose this. Unfortunately, several research centres, such as a powerful organization RAND Reports in the United States, have reported that sectarianism is a tool for control over Islam. This idea is being agitated worldwide, and we Muslims have become victims of that," he said.
The European Union is prepared to launch talks with Azerbaijan on the simplification of visa regime, Benita-Ferrera Waldner, the EU Commissar on Foreign Relations said in a mailed interview for Trend .
The European Commission offered he partners countries to seek ways for simplification of visa procedures and in and out visits to the EU member-countries. The key objective of the initiative is to increase the mobility and exchange between the EU and New Neighborhood Policy member-countries ( Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia).
The New Neighborhood Policy was signed with three South Caucasus countries in 2006 and is directed at the development of economy and improvement of democratic society in these countries.
According to the EU commissar, the issue can be solved in the context of resolution of problem such as illegal migration, border government, extradition of illegal migrants, etc.
The Azerbaijani Embassy in Britain investigates the facts of traveling organized by the British tour operator to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Embassy is planning to announce the results of investigation, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Britain Fahraddin Kurbanov said in the interview from London.
British tour operator Sunvil Discovery Limited is advertising a ten-day journey to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The cost for the trip is 1,627 sterling which includes flights, accommodation and breakfast, the official British website advertised.
Sunvil Discovery is a member of the British Tour Agency Association and has been operating since 1970 and offers individual journeys to the territory. "We have no information of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh," Sara Belcher, the head of the Department on Public Relations of the agency, reported to Trend agency from London.
However, Belcher has agreed to answer any questions presented by Trend agency concerning trips to the Azerbaijani occupied territories by Armenians in the near future. "The trip to the occupied territories is illegal, the British Tour Agency Association stated. The Association urges the tour operator to inform its clients of the itinerary.
However, no steps would be taken by the Association. "This is a political issue and it is necessary to appeal to the Britain Foreign Ministry in this situation. We cannot interfere in this issue. The clients themselves have chosen this route," a source in the Association stated.
The Britain Foreign Ministry placed information on its website suggesting the clients utilize alternative destinations. The Ministry has advised against traveling to occupied territories of Azerbaijan including Nagorno-Karabakh.
Traveling to the Azerbaijani occupied territories contradicts recommendations of the International Tour Organization and International Rights. And the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry will demand from the International Tourist Organization explanation due to travels implemented by the British tour operator to the Azerbaijani occupied territories, stated the chief of the Central Tourism Department at the Ministry Aydin Ismiyev.
The Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov does not rule out continuation of the negotiations between Russia and the United States on joint exploitation of the Azerbaijani Gabala radar station.
"I am not informed of the United States' written reply to Russia's offer regarding deployment of missile shield in Europe, but I think the issue on joint exploitation of the Gabala radar station may be considered closed. We are still discussing the issue with the United States," Istratov said to Trend on 7 December.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said to journalists on 5 December that Russia was disappointed with the United States' written reply to Russia's offer on deployment of missile shield in Europe. He noted that the United States backtracked on what they had previously said to Russia.
Parliament
The Azerbaijani opposition could not establish a single group which will represent the opposition in Parliament. "Differences among the leadership of the Musavat party concerning participation in the group with expanded composition and pressure by the Authorities on some MPs creates obstacles to establish a single group in Parliament," MP Panah Huseyn said. There are 17 MPs from the opposition in Azerbaijani Parliament. Presently, there is an MP group consisting of five MPs from the Musavat party in Parliament. The rejection by the Musavat to take part in the group was unexpected. The party should have reasons for such an action. There were MPs who initially agreed to establish a far expanded group, but later they reject. Huseynov did not detail the names of the MPs.
The Azerbaijani Parliament changed the regulations on setting prices for purchase of the land owned by the citizens. For this purpose some changes were made in the Civil Code at the parliamentary meeting on 7 December. According to the changes, in order to meet the needs of the Government during purchase of the land owned by the citizens, the prices will be set by a commission at the executive power. The commission will take into consideration real market prices. According to the Azerbaijani Civil Code, up to day, in order to meet the governmental needs during land purchase, prices were established by owners and the executive power on the basis of mutual agreement. According to the chair of the Azerbaijani permanent parliamentary commission for the policy of law and governmental formation MP Ali Huseynov, in case a citizen selling a lot of land does not agree on the price established by the commission, he may apply to court. After receiving of the notification that the land was bought, the citizen should vacate the area between 90 and 180 days. After discussions the Parliament passed the supplements and changes.
The Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Ziyafat Askarov accused human right activists with human and political prisoner trafficking. "Human traffickers are acting on behalf of human right activists in Azerbaijan," the Vice-Speaker said. "International organizations allocate a lot of budget for human traffickers. Using the budget human right activists develop a list of so called political prisoners. And later utilize the list as a sword of Damocles against Azerbaijan," he said. There is not a political prisoner notion in world. International organizations use the word of political prisoner in order to interfere into internal affairs of Azerbaijan.
Political Movements
Vahabism cannot affect political life of Azerbaijan. I do not believe it possible that radical religious groups will affect political life in Azerbaijan. Despite attempts being made by radical groups they were immediately prevented," Mubariz Gurbanli, deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan party, said. Lieutenant Kamran Asadov, an officer from military division N of the Defence Ministry, acting in a criminal conspiracy with other members of a radical Vahabist group, deserted his military unit and took with him four submachine guns, one machine gun and 20 grenades, along with shells and other military equipment. Law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan have established that the radical religious group intended to commit terror acts in strategic buildings, including diplomatic facilities. Officials of the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry reinforced security measures after informing of the planned terrorist acts directed against foreign embassies in Azerbaijan. The operational measures by the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry revealed that Asadov was a member of the Vahabists religious group. The criminal hid some of the weapon in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan. The armed group was detained in 104, Sadova Ave, Mashtaga, Baku, on 27 October. One of the criminals was killed during the operation. There is no struggle against vahabism and other religious radical sects in Azerbaijan as there is freedom of beliefs in the country. Gurbanli considers that radical religious sects cannot operate in the country.
On 3 December nearly 50 members of the Agstafa district organization of 'Way of Azerbaijan' Political Movement held a demonstration at 13:00 hours, covering the stretch of Baku-Tbilisi railway which passes via Agstafa, a source of the Movement said. The demonstration resulted from the sale of energy sources at low prices to neighboring Georgia where the demands of the Azerbaijanis have not been satisfied. According to demonstration participants, the contribution made by the Saakashvili Government to the regions densely populated by Azerbaijanis is aimed at gaining their votes during the elections. The demonstrators opposed this and demanded that assistance to the Georgian Government should be ceased. They said that the gas and electricity from Azerbaijan is not delivered to the Azerbaijanis residing in Georgia and as always they remain without gas and electricity. The resolution was read at the end of the election stating that gas and electricity problems are observed in many regions of Azerbaijan and instead of resolving them, the Government of Azerbaijan provides all possible assistance to Saakashvili's regime. While 1 cu.m of liquid gas is sold for $350 in the European market, this gas is sold to Georgia at a very low price pf $120 and electricity is sold to the Azeri people at a higher rate than Georgia. The demonstration participants maintain that the Azerbaijani energy sources sold to Georgia with low prices should firstly cover the demands of the Azerbaijanis residing in Georgia.
he Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (DPA) will support the candidate from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) if DPA can receive an agreement from the Government during the elections, Sardar Jalaloglu, DPA's chairman said. The presidential elections in Azerbaijan are scheduled for 15 October 2008. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will nominate his candidature for the next term during the presidential elections 2008. According to Jalaloglu, under the new political course DPA supports constructive opposition against the NAP. DPA is planning to participate at the elections. However, DPA will support the candidate from the ruling party if NAP gives a positive response to DPA's proposal. "We may agree our positions with the Authorities. The Authorities should submit their proposals on the issue and we will discuss them, Jalaloglu said. He did not give any details of the proposals.
The Azerbaijani Musavat opposition party positively assesses changes that the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe proposes to inject to the bill of Freedom of Assembly of Azerbaijan, Isa Gambar, the leader of the party, said to Trend agency. Since 2006 the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe has been holding negotiations with the Azerbaijani Government to make changes to the bill of Freedom of Assembly ratified in 1998. The head of the Constitutional Cooperation Department of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe Simon Granat-Mengkhini said in an interview with Trend that the proposed changes stipulate that citizens inform of planned rallies rather than having to receive permission. The Venice Commission also proposes to abolish bans concerning demonstrations in front of or near state buildings. The Azerbaijani bill obligates people to inform state bodies about planned demonstrations and rallies. However, people have to get permission in order to hold a rally in Azerbaijan. Gambar said no permission is necessary in democratic countries. Moreover, the government must resolve problems during unsanctioned rallies through mutual understanding and negotiations. The state bodies that do not permit assemblies, disperse rallies where there is an absence of permission. State bodies which disperse rallies without reason violate bills of the country. Gambar considers the issue very real. The issue is currently under discussion in international organizations. The ruling New Azerbaijan party considers the change unacceptable proposed by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to the bill of Freedom of Assembly. The Deputy Executive Secretary of the Party, Mubariz Gurbanli said in an interview with Trend that "proposals by the Venice Commission cannot be accepted. Under the new changes anybody can hold rallies when and where they want, but such a bill may lead to chaos in the country. The Baku Executive Administration allocated special areas to hold rallies and demonstrations," Gurbanli said. As a rule the state bodies give permission to people to hold rallies in Azerbaijan like in many foreign countries, Gurbanli added. Musavat was founded in 1992. The leader of the party Isa Gambar had been the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament from 1992 to 1993. Gambar was a candidate in the presidential elections in 2003.
The left Azerbaijani opposition party stated that the candidate from the ruling New Azerbaijan party (NAP) will win at the upcoming presidential elections. "The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will win at the upcoming presidential elections," the Co-chairman of the Social-Democratic party of Azerbaijan (SDPA) Araz Alizadeh said. The presidential election in Azerbaijan is scheduled for 15 October 2008. New Azerbaijan nominated the candidature of the President. The Azadlig bloc, which unites three opposition parties Popular Front Party, Liberal Party and Citizen and Development Party, stated that they will boycott the approaching elections if no changes to be made in the election bill. According to Alizadeh, political forces will fight for leading opposition role till the presidential elections. SDPA's Co-chairman considers unreal unite of opposition before the elections. SDPA will adopt an official decision on the issue during the meeting scheduled for summer 2008. The issue concerning support the candidature from NAP will also be considered during the meeting. Alizadeh and the ex-President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov are the co-chairmen of SDPA.
The Open Society Party (OSP) of Azerbaijan leaded by the ex-Speaker Rasul Guliyev do not believe that Azerbaijani opposition may gain win during the upcoming presidential elections. "Opposition leaders who took part at the latest presidential and parliamentary elections fulfilled their mission," stated OSP's Deputy leader Zamina Dunyamaliyeva. The presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held ion 15 October 2008. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) nominated candidature of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the next term. However, the Azadlig bloc, unites three opposition parties, Popular Front, Liberal and Citizen and Development, stated the bloc would boycott the upcoming presidential elections if no changes to be made in composition of election commissions, as well as elections to be held on parity basis. OSP has not taken a concrete decision concerning participation at the elections. Party members will try Guliyev's return to the country till the first quarter of 2008. "We should not expect success of opposition during the elections taking into consideration the current situation in the country. I believe so," Dunyamaliyeva said.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Armenian armed forces fired at the Azerbaijani National Army in the village of Agdam from the village of Mosesgah in the Berd region of Armenia from 15.45pm to 16.05pm on 2 December; from the villages of Kuropatkino in the Khojavanad region of Azerbaijan from 18.36pm to 05.15am on 2-3 December; and from the villages of Javahirli and Tagibayli in the Azerbaijani Agdam region from 12.15am to 5.35am, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported.
Armenian armed forces fired at Azerbaijani National Army troops from Sarijali, Javahirli and Tagibeyli villages in the Agdam region of Azerbaijan from 11.10pm to 1.00am on 3-4 December; from the villages of Alkhanli in the Fizuli region of Azerbaijan from 12.40am to 12.50am on 4 December, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported.
A major part of funds to be allocated for non-governmental organizations out of the public budget, will be spent on the spread of news about Nagorno-Karabakh throughout the world, Azay Guliyev, the President of the National NGO Forum, said on 4 December. "First of all public budget assignments will be allocated for projects related to highlighting the Nagorno-Karabakh problem to the world community," Guliyev said. In accordance with the President's decree, dated 27 July, a state program is being developed to support the development of NGOs. The document envisages the establishment of a state body on work with NGOs and a Foundation to finance the non-governmental organizations. The 2008 public budget has allocated AZN 1.5mln for financing NGOs.
Up to now, Azerbaijan and Armenia have not been able to come to an agreement proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group, said the representative of the International Crisis Group, Claire Delessard, whilst announcing the report on the Nagorno-Karabakh. "We regret that both countries have not demonstrated a strong political will and both governments have not prepared their communities for the settlement of the conflict," Delessard said. According to her, military training is currently being held in both countries. Re-establishing military operations is possible to take place in 2012, when oil revenues of Azerbaijan will decrease. Delessard said that the international community should pay special attention to the settlement of this conflict and to bring the sides to the agreement proposed by the Minsk Group by 2012. The International Crisis Group suggests closer cooperation of the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia with civil society. "After oil revenues decrease, the situation may become critical and only civil society may play a significant role in settling the conflict," she said.
Azerbaijan is concerned about the facts mentioned in the last report on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the International Crisis Group (ICG) and doubts that this organization recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Hasan Mammadzade, an employee of the Foreign Relations Department of the Azerbaijani President's Administration said. He was speaking at a public discussion of the ICG report on 5 December. The report by ICG does not reflect the true development of Azerbaijan, the increase of oil revenues and increase of corruption, whereas the increase of military expenses was indicated in the report as an indication of an increase in military spirit. However, the armament of Armenia does not concern the ICG at all, Mammadzade said. Claire Delessard, a representative of the International Crisis Group, said during the publication of the report that military preparations were underway in Azerbaijan and Armenia. "The rehabilitation of military action is possible only in 2012, when Azerbaijan's oil revenues will reduce," she said. "Following a cut in oil revenues, the situation might become crucial and only civil society can play an important role in the resolution of the conflict," Delessard said. Mammadzade said that the ICG is an influential organization and the distribution of a report on the Nagorno-Karabakh is very important and positive. However, the document does not highlight the positions of the two sides impartially. "The report does not take into consideration the refugees' rights and those guilty of their displacement are not named. The report does not contain data on graves and monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories of Azerbaijan, Mammadzade said.
Armenian armed forces fired at Azerbaijani National Army troops located in the Agdam village of the Azerbaijani Tovuz region from Chinari village in the Armenian Berd region from 1.45pm to 2.00pm on 5 December; from the villages of Tapgaragoyunlu in the Goranboy region of Azerbaijan from 8.45pm to 8.55pm; from Giziloba village in the Azerbaijani Terter region from 2.50am to 3.20am on 6 December and from Sarijali and Javahirli villages in the Agdam region of Azerbaijan from 4.15am to 4.30am, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry reported. The Azerbaijani army retaliated and no casualties were reported.
"The Kosovo model gives more hopes to separatists in Azerbaijan and Georgia and it will create problems for these countries, an analyst on Azerbaijan in the International Crisis Group Tabib Huseynov said at a round table with the subject of Karabakh 2007: Discussions and Prospects on 7 December. "The separatists will hope for independence," he said. After collapse of the USSR, ethnic conflicts occurred in Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Georgia (Abkhazia and Ossetia), and they are still on-going. The Kosovo model cannot be a precedent for settlement of the conflict in Azerbaijan, but it can cause lingering of the conflict, Huseynov said.