Official news
On 26 July the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, received the delegation led by Sergey Kislyak, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.
"The visit will promote discussions around the relations between Russia and Azerbaijan in numerous fields, Mr. Sergey Kislyak noted. " Russia looks at Azerbaijan as a friendly and strategic partner and the meetings between the heads of two states give particular impulse to strengthening of bilateral relations", he emphasized. Noting his recent visit to the Russian Federation, President of Azerbaijan with great pleasure reminded his meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stressing their discussions around development of bilateral relations, situation in region, other issues. "The relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have acquired strategic and reliable character", he underlined. "Our cooperation will further develop and strengthen in all spheres," he said.
On July 27, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed an order to perpetuate the memory of composer Emin Sabitoglu.The President instructed the Baku Executive Power to mount a memorial plaque on the wall of a building in which the composer lived.
On 27 July, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, signed an order approving Conception on State Support to the NGOs of Azerbaijan.
The President instructed the Presidential Administration to, within two months, prepare and submit proposals regarding establishment of an Organization for Work with NGOs and Fund of Assistance to NGOs and to control the implementation of the Conception. The Cabinet of Ministers is in charge of fulfilling issues arising from the order.
Foreign policy
Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the mutual broadcasting of Azerbaijani and Russian TV channels, the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Vasili Istratov, reported on 23 July on the results of a meeting between experts of the two countries.
He noted that the sides had discussed the wording of the agreement and had voiced their political will to prolong mutual broadcasting. The ambassador did not name the TV channels that will be mutually broadcasted.
Azerbaijan made a decision to suspend the broadcasting of foreign TV channels via local frequencies from 10 July. The broadcasting of the Russian channel ORT and the Turkish channel STV have already been stopped. The broadcasting of RTR-planet has not been suspended yet due to ongoing talks on the broadcast of Azerbaijani state TV channel (AzTV) in several Russian regions.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the Foreign Relations Departments at the Azerbaijani President's Executive Power, stated in talks with journalists in Baku that the elections held in Turkey on 22 July has become one of the most important events for the country over the past 10 years.
Holding the re-elections is a very rare situation for Turkey. The victory of the ruling Justice and Development Party testifies the confidence gained amongst the people of Turkey. "This is justified because Turkey is successfully developing in the political economic and other spheres. Currently the country is taking active steps to integrate into the world economy and the European Union," Mammadov stressed.
The state official urged that regarding the results of the parliamentary elections in Turkey, the relations between Baku and Ankara will continue to progress. "Excellent relations exist between the two countries which can only continue in that direction," Mammadov stated.
The confident victory of Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey in extraordinary parliamentary elections testified that the religion is a sufficiently strong factor in the Country, said the Leader of Azerbaijan National Independence Party (ANIP), Etibar Mammadov.
According to him, the election campaigns showed that AKP won the elections with large dominancy and their victory was expected.
Mammadov considers that the results of the elections will not significantly affect the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. According to ANIP leader, there are strategic relations between the two countries and therefore, the co-operation will continue in the future.
"Forming the new Government in Turkey will not affect the religious factor in Azerbaijan. However, unfortunately, activity of the religious flows from other countries is observed in Azerbaijan. Separation of religion from the policy is favorable foe any country," Mammadov added.
By 53 order of Gigi Ugulava, the city administration of Georgia, the representative of Tbilisi was canceled in Baku. The city administration reported on 25 July that Ugulava canceled the order from 1994 on 'Official representatives of Tbilisi in Baku City'.
Teymuraz Karimov had been in the position till now. The main duty of Karimov was deepening relations between Tbilisi and Baku. Baku has similar representative in Tbilisi, who was withdrawn after the Azerbaijani Embassy was opened in Georgia.
Georgia has not canceled this position so far. The duties of the representative of Georgia will perform the Georgian Embassy in Azerbaijan.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Kislyak, arrived in Azerbaijan in the evening of 25 July to discuss regional security and co-operation issues.
Kislyak briefed the media in airport that his visit is aimed at holding consultations between the two friendly countries. "We will discuss a broad range of issues. It is very important for us to know and well understand the position of Azerbaijan," the Deputy Minister said.
Earlier the Embassy of Russia in Azerbaijan stated that Kislyak will meet with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Araz Azimov. Discussions will be held on regional security and future co-operation between Azerbaijan and Russia.
Anne Derse, the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, stated in Baku on 26 July that the United States has not refused the joint use of the Gabala Radar Station.
During the summit of the G8 Summit in June, Russian Vladimir Putin proposed the joint use of the Gabala Radar Station to the United States. He noted Russia's priority to the proposal was for the placement of the Radar Station elements in Azerbaijan, neighboring with Iran, as opposed to the territories of Poland and Czech Republic.
Derse noted that the United States has not refused the proposal for joint use of the station. The issue must be discussed with Azerbaijan and during the discussions it will be possible to elaborate how the Gabala radar station meets the requirements of the US anti-missile system.
She noted that the Gabala radar station will not be an alternative to US plans to establish an anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland.
The Gabala Radar Station situated in north-west Azerbaijan was built while part of the USSR as an important element of the USSR ANTI Missile Defence. When Azerbaijan gained independence, the Russians continued using the station despite political tensions in Azerbaijan. A ten-year agreement for Russia to lease the station was signed in 2002.
On 26 July next consultations took place between the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Araz Azimov and Russia, Sergey Kislyak, in Baku with regards to the joint use of Gabala Radar Station.
Azimov said after the meeting that next consultations will take place in near future between Azerbaijan and Russia with regards to the joint use of Gabala Radar Station.
According to him, the prospects of jointly using Gabala Station depend on the results of the consultations.
" Azerbaijan will attend all consultations regarding Gabala Station. The proposal of Russia will be considered," Azimov said.
In response to the plans of the US to establish missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, the Russian President highlighted the key advantage of such an approach.
Many experts guess Azerbaijan, which is neighboring with Iran, can be used as a base in case the United States decides to attack on Iran that realizes nuclear program. The Azerbaijani authorities earlier stated that it has no intention to offer its territory for air blows on Iran.
Pashayev said that Azerbaijan's position on the Iranian nuclear program is clear. " Azerbaijan is against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, we cannot come against peaceable nuclear program of any country, which doe not pursue military purposes. Every country has right for it," he stressed. The deputy foreign minister also noted that the relation between the United States and Azerbaijan are very pleasant and getting consolidated. Pashayev, who has worked as the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States for 10 years with pleasure marked the development of the bilateral relations between two countries during his tenure and their growth from the level of familiarity to strategic partnership. " Azerbaijan's new authorities carry out intensive work in this direction. The relations and cooperation with the Unite play positive role not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the region" in whole," he emphasized. It is well reflected on economic programs and sometimes in provision of security. Azerbaijan has large-scale programs on cooperation with the United State in the military and security sectors. Washington ahs recently hosted a next round of bilateral dialogue," Pashayev added.
Russia does not intend to increase armed contingent in Armenia after absolving from the Treaty on Conventional Arms in Europe (TCAE), said the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Kislyak, on 26 July in Baku.
According to him, Russia does not intend to use these measures as a response to the decision of the USA to establish missile defense system in Eastern Europe.
Touching upon Russia's absolving from TCAE, Kislyak said that Russia does not seek confrontations. According to him, all their steps are directed towards returning the situation into more normal and more controlled manner. "If our colleagues are not interested, there will be no conflicts. However, naturally the absence of the predictability in establishing armed forces has never strengthened international security," he said.
On 14 July the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, issued an order terminating Russia's participation in the Treaty and Treaty-linked international agreements.
On 26 July the experts of the working groups on delimitation and demarcation of the state borders of Azerbaijan and Russia held an inspection over 45-km section of the border in Balakan district of Azerbaijan. Later the experts met with the Head of Balakan Executive Power and informed of the results of the inspection. On 27 July the experts will discuss uncoordinated section of the state borders between Azerbaijan and Russia. The section in Balakan district is one of the uncoordinated borders. The concluding document of the meeting of the experts will be included in the agenda of the 14th meeting of the Commission for Delimitation of State Borders, which will take place in Baku. During the 13th meeting of the Commission in Makhachgala, the sides decided to continue talks to approach positions of the two countries on this issue. Azerbaijan was represented at the meeting by the Governmental delegation headed by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Khalaf Khalafov and Russia by Ambassador on special charges of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Yakovenko. Currently three sections remain uncoordinated and it makes up only 5% of the borders between the two countries.
Azerbaijan calls for Albania to maintain the UN Security Council's resolution and stop supplying Armenia with arms. "Supplying arms to Yerevan endangers the region. Baku Official is to submit a protest letter to Albania due to its supplying arms to Armenia," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists, Lider Channel informed. Recently, Turkey refused its territories being used for transporting arms to Armenia. The vessel with sixty containers, loaded with heavy artillery and ammunition, was delayed in the Istanbul port. The Minister stated that the Azerbaijani Government would submit the protest letter to the Foreign Ministry of Albania in reference to the delay of the Albanian vessel by the Turkish Government. "The text of the note has already been developed. We note that neither country can supply arms to Azerbaijan or Armenia (conflicting countries) in compliance with the resolution of the UN Security Council," the Minister added. The press reported that the representative of MEIKO company, who intended to supply arms to Armenia, has stated that selling arms to Armenia corresponds with the resolution. "Presently, we are considering other routes for transporting arms to Armenia," MEIKO's representative added.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Araz Azimov, calls on the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to come to a common conclusion on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement by the end of year.
He stressed that if the situation continues so in this regard it will not be useful for any of the conflicting sides. "According to the political agendas of their countries and taking into consideration their personal and professional careers, the co-chairs should, by the end of year, define what needs to do. We hope that this troika will make serious and decisive efforts to clarify the situation," Azimov said.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, Azerbaijan hopes that the co-chairs will insist on the project of base principles which was devised in the last three years.
As regards the to term-frame given to the Armenian side through the will of the Armenian President, Robert Kocharyan, during his recent meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in Saint-Petersburg, Azimov noted that the given time was sufficient. "International organizations will liven up their activities from the mid August. Armenian Government is likely to summarize the interest of its society and to review its positions. I hope it will be constructive," he said.
According to Azerbaijani diplomat, Kocharyan is protecting the interests of Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh more than the position of Armenia. "Sometimes it is outside the framework. We are considering the issue with the Armenian side. I believe the peaceful population residing in Nagorno-Karabakh already wish to reside as part of Azerbaijan," Azimov said.
Four documents were signed in Amman on 29 June as a result of talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and King of Jordan Abdullah II.
In particular, the two countries signed an intergovernmental Protocol on Cooperation in the sphere of education, science, culture, arts, youth and sports, health and media in 2007-2009.
The second document was a protocol on Friendship and cooperation between the executive powers of Supreme Municipality of Amman.
Azerbaijan and Jordan also signed a Protocol on establishment of international commission on trade and economic cooperation on and international agreement on establishment of a Business Council between the two countries.
The documents were undersigned after the talks on the top. The two heads of state discussed development of bilateral cooperation, regional and international issue.
Political movements
Avaz Tamirhan, the Acting Chairman of the Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, has stated that the Musavat Party should withdraw its proposal submitted to the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) regarding the formation of election commissions.
According to Tamirhan, 8 out of 9 items of the proposal by Musavat are in support of the Government. Tamirhan believes that the formation of an election commission on a parity basis will result in the ruling party having a monopoly on the election commission.
Azadlyg bloc suggests forming an election commission from representatives of the parties that had accumulated over 1% of votes at the latest Parliamentary elections. The United Azerbaijan Party, Musavat, Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan and Liberal Party of Azerbaijan are amongst those parties. "We believe that this option is more acceptable. If the proposal from the Musavat Party is discussed and passed by Parliament, this could be very damaging for the opposition," head of Liberal Party noted.
If Musavat withdraws its proposal, Azadlyg will be prepared to consider the principles and proposals in the formation of an election commission, Tamirhan stressed.
Azadlyg bloc unites three opposition parties, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, the liberal Party, and the Citizens and Development Party of Azerbaijan.
The discussions that will take place in September between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe will focus on annexes and amendments to the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan, said the Head of the Social-Political Department of the Executive Apparat of Azerbaijan President, Ali Hasanov.
He stressed that discussions are currently being held between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Venice Commission over the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan and Law on Freedom of Assembly. Azerbaijan is represented in the discussions by delegates of the Azerbaijani Parliament and Presidential Apparat.
According to Hasanov, there are new proposals regarding the new law, but their essence was not disclosed.
"The debates will be continuing in September in Baku. The meeting will be attended by all sides who have presented proposals on the law. In addition, the discussions will be attended by representatives of the opposition and public organizations. Our position is that we say 'yes' and accept proposals regarding improvement of the electoral experience, conduct of more democratic, fair and transparent elections and raise people's trust in the elections. However, we do not accept proposals which have been directed towards ensuring individual interests of separate persons that adversely affect the elections," Hasanov said.
In addition, he expressed his opinion on if the Government of Azerbaijan will accept proposals on the formation of election commissions on a parity base, i.e. equal division between the Government and the opposition. "Currently it is impossible to form election commissions on a parity basis. There are people who do not participate in the political process, but have the right like politicians. Therefore, the equality is only possible if all sides participate in the elections," Hasanov said.
The Appeal Court of Azerbaijan rejected the lawsuit against the State Committee on Management of the State Property, said the Chairman of Azadlyg Party, Ahmad Oruj.
Due to the non-provision of headquarters, the Azadlyg Party filed a lawsuit against the State Committee on Management of the State Property. During the preparatory hearing in Khatai Court in Baku, the representative of the State Committee made a petition to consider the case in the Economic Court. This petition was rejected on the grounds that the lawsuit of the Azadlyg party could only be considered by the district court. The case was returned to Khatai district.
Recently-formed 'New Time' party does not intend to co-operate with separate opposition parties, or to join any blocs, the Chairman of the party, Musa Agayev, stated. He noted that the deputy chairman would be appointed and commissions of the party would be formed soon.
According to Agayev, the 'New Time' party will establish cooperation with opposition parties relating to issues of national importance. The documents on the establishment of the party congress will be submitted to the Justice Ministry this week, the Chairman said.
The 'New Time' is an opposition centrist party.
Avaz Tamirkhan, the acting chairman of the opposition Liberal Party of Azerbaijan (LPA), has stated that opposition parties should boycott the forthcoming presidential elections in Azerbaijan to hold dialogue with the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.
Tamirkhan considers that the issues of interest of all opposition parties should be defined once Musavat Party withdraws its draft proposals, submitted to the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan Parliament).
Tamirkhan believes that all parties, represented at the Parliament, should join the discussions. There is an essential condition to commence the dialogue. "Parties, which made falsifications during elections, should admit their fault and apologize. They should not nominate their candidates if similar actions will be repeated. Afterwards we can discuss the formation of the elections commission with the participation of all parties," Tamirkhan noted.
Head of LPA added that the issue concerning formation of elections commission should be discussed with the ruling party.
LPA is member of the largest opposition alliance Azadlyg. The leader of the party is Lala Shovkat, former state secretary.
On 24 July, the youth association of the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) held a demonstration in the Azerbaijani Guba region, where a mass grave was recently discovered, as a protest against the atrocities committed by the Armenians, the Chairman of the association, Ramil Hasanov, reported.
According to Hasanov, 250 members of NAP walked 1km to the grave where the young members of the party were informed of the archaeological finds.
"The experts said two wells were found in the area of the cemetery. Burying their victims on the bank of the river, the Armenians supposed the water would wash away human remains, and consequently the traces of their crimes," Hasanov noted.
After the demonstration, the NAP visited the monument to Heydar Aliyev in Guba and the Cemetery of Martyrs. On the same day, a regional meeting of the northern Siyazan, Davachi, Guba, Gusar, and Khachmaz of the NAP's youth association was held. Elvin Hajizadeh was elected the coordinator of the association of the northern region.
Attended by several opposition parties, a meeting on 24 July focused on the social-economic problems of the country, said the Chairman of Azerbaijan Social Democratic Party, Araz Alizade, who attended the meeting.
The meeting was attended by the Leaders of the Azerbaijan National Independence Party, Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Musavat Party, and the Tereggi Party.
The meting participants exchanged views and discussed documents reporting on the social-economic situation.
The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party said that the next meeting will take place in mid-August.
The above-mentioned parties have established a consultation council.
Election commissions should be formed of persons with positive reputation, the Chairman of Adalat party, MP Ilyas Ismayilov, urged.
Notably, the authorities and the opposition in Azerbaijan cannot agree on formation of election commission. There are disagreements in this connection also within the opposition.
Even if the suggestions of one side are accepted, it will be difficult to implement a variant satisfactory for all sides, for this reason the members of election commissions should take fair views.
"The people represented in the Central Election Committee (CEC) should be fair and loving their people and it is not important which party they represent. So far, the members of the governing, opposition, and radical-opposition parties have been represented in the CEC. Finally, they did not justify the hopes of their parties. That is a very difficult process. Whatever criteria are applied whilst formation of election commissions, finally a problem will arise. For this reason the commissions should be formed of the people who do not give way to lie or falsifications," the Chairman noted.
According to Ismayilov, it is known in the public who is reliable and who is not. "So, I think we can find the golden mean," Ismayilov summed up.
Adalat is an opposition party. Its chairman is an MP of Azerbaijani Parliament.
The practice of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey should be studied by the political parties of Azerbaijan, said a member of the opposition Azadlyg bloc and Chairman of Citizen and Development Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Aliyev. He stressed that the results of the extraordinary parliamentary elections in Turkey did not correspond to the forecasts. The elections showed that the public opinion in the Country is of another kind. "For the first time in the past fifty years, the Turkish people allowed this party to be in power. It was an unexpected result in Turkey. I think that the political tactics of Rejeb Teyyub Erdogan during his term were successful. The ideological course of AKP may be accepted in other countries," Aliyev said.
According to Aliyev, because of the fact that the majority of Azeri people, are Turks by origin and Muslim by religion, are similar to those who brought success to the AKP, the party's political tactics should also be studied here. Aliyev said that Erdogan's direct dialogue with the public, his familiarization with the problems of the citizens, his respectful attention towards the religious and national values translated as him becoming the leader in the right-central political camp in Turkey.
"It is possible to say that the Justice and Development Party put all the remaining parties in the right-central camp under its shadow. Therefore, it could attract the votes of the camp," Aliyev said.
The Forum of the National Assembly of the Georgian Azerbaijanis took place in Kiev on 24-25 July. The event was attended by the active members of the Assembly who reside in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Slovakia and Belarus, as well as representatives of Meskheti-Turks. The two-day Forum covered the policy of the Georgian Government to close Azerbaijani secondary schools in Georgia, problems of returning Meskheti-Turks to the native land, Georgian policy with regards to the national minorities, discrimination in human rights and social-political situation in Georgia.
The Forum participants said that it would be expedient to hold the Forum of the National Assembly each six months, as well as International Forum of Meskheti-Turks and Georgian Azerbaijanis residing abroad.
It was stated in the Forum that the administrative organization, police, prosecutor's offices and special services of Georgia roughly discriminates the human rights. National minorities, especially Azerbaijanis incur political and social-economic discrimination. Special political obstacles have been created for returning of Meskheti-Turks to the native land.
Movsum Samadov, the chairmen of the Islam party of Azerbaijan (IPA), stated on 26 July that the party would not cooperate with some pro-west opposition parties.
The chairman noted that IPA was ready to cooperate with each company, which functioning in national interests of Azerbaijan. The members of IPA are not intending to cooperate with pro-west parties of Azerbaijan. "We are in opposition against the Authorities, but at the same time we are in opposition against pro-west parties," chairman added.
Touching upon state registration of the party, Samadov noted that the refuse on state registration was due to IPA is a religious party. Samadov stressed that IPA is a political organization.
The deputy chairman, Akif Heydarov, noted that the state registration of IPA was canceled in 1995 due to Rasul Guliyev, the former Speaker of the Parliament. IPA was founded in 1992.
On 27 July the Chairman of Azerbaijan Liberal Democratic Party, Fuad Aliyev, met with the Head of the OSCE Baku Office, Jose Luis Herrero Ansola, the Party reports. The meeting covered issues regarding social-political situation in Azerbaijan, Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as OSCE's proposals on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. Main attention during the meeting was paid to the amendments to the Electoral Code, upcoming Presidential elections, situation with freedom of speech and press, etc.
Fuad Aliyev highlighted the significance of making amendments to the Electoral Code, re-establishing the proportional electoral system and expanding the number of parliamentarians up to 250.
Touching up on the formation of the election commissions, Fuad Aliyev said that the members of the commissions should protect interests of all parties. "The experience of the past elections show that the parties represented in the commissions fulfill their goals and do not resolve problems of other parties. Therefore, we do not agree with formation of the Central Election Commission through principle New Azerbaijan Party + 4 parties. 9 out of 18 members of the election commissions should be from winning parties and remaining seats should be distributed between representatives of the international organizations and parties registered in Azerbaijan," Aliyev said.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Liu Jianchao, a representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that the Government of China respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and backs the resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He was commenting on the so-called 'presidential elections' held in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani territory under Armenian occupation.
China hopes that both sides will be able to find the right solution to the conflict in line with international law. China is prepared to continue constructive steps jointly with the international community to resolve the conflict.
Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, reported in talks with journalists in Baku on 23 July that no proposals had been forwarded regarding the possibility of a next meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of the UN General Assembly due in September 2007
After the meeting in Vienna, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs stated the necessity to hold meetings between the two parties in order to achieve a peaceful solution in the conflict; to date Baku has not received any concrete proposals in this respect, he stressed.
In turn Novruz Mammadov, the head of the Foreign Relations Departments at the Azerbaijani President's Executive Power, said in talks with journalists that the agenda of the UN General Assembly includes issues on the occupation of the Azerbaijani land as well as Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
At present experts of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry are carrying out relevant consultations and later the President will determine the members of delegation which will represent Baku at the UN General Assembly.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on 23 July that Iran supports discussions between Azerbaijan and Armenia to solve their dispute over Karabakh.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported communication as a way of understanding between the parties involved in the Karabakh dispute," Hosseini told reporters. "We believe that settlement of the dispute will play a key role in the process of guaranteeing stability and sustainable development in the region," he said.
He went on to say that whilst officially recognizing the sovereignty right of countries, including Azerbaijan, Iran welcomes the recent constructive discussions, especially between the presidents of the two countries.
He announced Iran's readiness to provide every assistance to facilitate the eventual settlement of the problem.
The next monitoring will be held in the line of contact of troops near the village of Merzili near the Agdam Highway on 25 July in compliance with a mandate from the special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan reports.
Jaslan Nurtazin and Peter Key, field assistants to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's special envoy, Andrzej Kasprzyk, are in charge of monitoring the Azerbaijani side of the frontline
Imre Palatinus and Antal Herdiks, field assistants to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's special envoy, will carry out the monitoring on the Armenian side of the frontline in the territory internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
Over the past period the Armenians have frequently fired at Azerbaijani positions located in Gazakh District.
The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan condemns the upcoming visit of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords of Great Britain, Caroline Cox, to Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia. The Press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, Khazar Ibrahim, said on 24 July that the visit is not recognized by the international community.
According to Ibrahimov, the visit testifies to the Baroness' partiality. "It is not the first visit of the Baroness to Nagorno-Karabakh and it is no secret that the visits take place under patronage and influence of the Armenian lobby. In each of her visits, Cox does not keep herself from acting against Azerbaijan," Ibrahimov said.
According to him, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly appealed to the House of Lords on this issue. The Foreign Ministry's representative stressed that irrespective of the Baroness' visits since the beginning of 1996, no delegation has been sent by Great Britain to the occupied Azerbaijani lands. "Because they recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Great Britain does not wish to take any provocative steps," Ibrahimov said.
Armenian media sources inform that during her visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Baroness met with the speaker of the so-called Parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ashot Gulyan, and with so-called Foreign Minister, Georgi Petrosyan.
It is Cox's sixty-third visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Karabakh Liberation Oarganization reported in its statement that the visit of Caroline Cox, the Baroness and Deputy Speaker of House of Lords of Great Britain, to Nagorno-Karabakh after its elections proved fruitless to negotiations and to so-called 'popular diplomacy'. Armenians attempted to hide the facts of occupying Azerbaijani territories by prolonging their time and using 'popular diplomacy'.
"Agressors under the patronage of international organizations hope to implement their objectives. International orrganizations and a range of foreign countries should stop their support of Armenians. The Azerbaijani Government should demand explanations from countries and the representatives that pay visits to Nagorno-Karabakh. The representatives of the Azerbaijani intellectuals should understand that their visit to Nagorno-Karabakh opened the way for such people as Caroline Cox," as was noted in the statement.
The Azerbaijani Security Ministry reported on 26 July that the Armenian Armed Forces broke the ceasefire agreement and at fired the Azerbaijani National Armed Forces from post located in the west part of Akhmadagali village of Agdam region of Azerbaijan on 26 July at 01:00 hours.
The Azerbaijani National Armed Forces retaliated and no casualties were reported.
Russia will continue its assistance in settling Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Kislak, visiting Azerbaijan stated in Baku on 26 July.
Kislak noted at a briefing after the talks at Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry that it was interesting for him to hear the viewpoint of Azerbaijani side on the matter.
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister, Araz Azimov, said that the conflict represented the key problem for Azerbaijani security. From the other side, the conflict is multifold and is directly connected with the situation in the region. "So, discussing regional security we also discussed the situation in the conflict area," Azimov noted.
The Azerbaijani Security Ministry reported on 27 July that the Armenian Armed Forces broke the ceasefire agreement and fired at the Azerbaijani National Armed Forces from their positions located in the south of the occupied village of Shikhlar of Agdam District on 27 July from 01:30 to 02:00 hours, as well as from their positions in the southwest part of the occupied village Chayli of Terter District of Azerbaijan from 04:10 to 05:00 hours.
On 26 July the Armenian Armed Forces fired at Azerbaijani forces from the positions located in the south part of the occupied Seysulan village of Terter from 19:45 to 20:15 hours and in south of Topgaragoyunlu village of Goranboy District the from 22:00 to 22:20 hours.
The Azerbaijani National Armed Forces retaliated and no casualties were reported