Armenian FM invited to U.S., Armenia may join NATO's Afghan mission

This was first published in May 2, 2009 Armenian Reporter

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

Armenian FM to visit U.S. after “historic step” with Turkey

Armenia's FM Nalbandian was last in Washington in July 2008 to meet then Secretary of State Condy Rice. Armenian Reporter photo.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian to welcome the April 22 statement by the foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey as a "historic step," Armenia's Public Radio reported on April 28. The statement committed Armenia and Turkey to an "on-­going process" with a goal of normalizing bilateral relations.

According to informed sources, Mrs. Clinton also extended an invitation for Mr. Nalbandian to visit Washington early next week, which the foreign minister accepted.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Assembly of America reported that on April 27 its leader Hirair Hovnanian was telephoned by Vice President Joe Biden. According to the Assembly, "they exchanged views on the history and status of Armenian-American community efforts to obtain affirmation by the U.S. government of the Armenian Genocide."

[UPDATE: According to an informed source, Mr. Biden also called an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) leader to argue that Obama administration's avoidance of the genocide term was acquisced to by the Armenian leadership seeking normalization of relations with Turkey. - E.S.]

According to U.S. and Armenian reports, last week Mr. Biden called Armenian President Serge Sargsian twice, both before and after the April 22 statement was made public. During the second call, Mr. Sargsian was praised for his "leadership" on the issue.

For its part, the Assembly welcomed the April 22 statement by Armenia and Turkey, while also expressing disappointment about President Barack Obama's April 24 statement that did not contain the word genocide.

State Dept. report notes Armenia’s “active interest” in aiding the U.S. in Afghanistan

In July 2000, then–Defense Secretary William Cohen (left) signs a nonproliferation deal with Armenia’s Serge Sargsian. Department of Defense

After Armenian peacekeepers completed their mission in Iraq last October, "the Armenian Ministry of Defense has expressed active interest in sending a peacekeeping contingent to Afghanistan in support of the International Security Assistance Force," according to the State Department's annual "Country reports on terrorism 2008," released on April 30.

Discussions of such a deployment were already reported in October 2007, when the then-prime minister Serge Sargsian visited the United States.

Overall, the report registered a considerable decline in terrorism-related fatalities from the high of 22,500 deaths in 2007 to under 16,000 in 2008. While there was a decline in terrorist activity in Iraq, an increase was registered in Afghanistan and especially Pakistan.

The report also noted that "Armenia's counterterrorism partnership with the United States included granting blanket over-flight clearance and ad hoc landing rights to U.S. military aircraft," as well as cooperation on non­proliferation issues.

(Arminfo reported on April 29 that the Armenian Defense Ministry asked the National Assembly to ratify a prolongation of the July 24, 2000, U.S.-Armenia Agreement on Counterproliferation. The agreement, which became the first in a series of U.S.-Armenia security agreements, was signed during an earlier visit to the U.S. by Mr. Sargsian, who was minister of defense at the time.)

While referring to "measured progress in implementing border security and anti-trafficking measures," the U.S. report retained some of the concerns expressed about Armenia last year.

The concerns included reported "widespread corruption" that hampered counterterrorism efforts as well "interest in strengthening its ties with Iran," that was said to lead to Armenia's reluctance "to participate in international efforts that criticized or placed pressure on Iran."

Like last year, the report expressed no such concerns with regard to Azerbaijan or Georgia.

“Rival” gas pipelines discussed in Sofia, Prague

European countries are continuing to discuss ways to safeguard their gas supplies from interruptions, resulting in part from their overdependence on supplies from Russia and the latter's recurring pricing disputes with transit countries like Ukraine.

A meeting in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on April 24-25 brought together senior officials from 28 countries and, according to local media, focused on the so-called South Stream project that would bring Russian natural gas under the Black Sea to Turkey and then on to Europe, thus avoiding Ukraine.

That summit's main intrigue was Russian premier Vladimir Putin's decision to pull out at the last moment, sending his energy minister instead. According to media speculation, Mr. Putin's decision came after Bulgaria declined to cede its gas distribution network to Russia's Gazprom as part of South Stream.

For their part, Europeans seek to increase the transparency of gas purchase and transit agreements made by Gazprom with Central Asian gas suppliers.

On May 6–7, the European Union will hold its summit in the Czech capital. On the agenda there is EU support for the U.S.-backed Nabucco gas pipeline that aims to bring Central Asian (and potentially Iranian) gas to Europe bypassing Russia via Turkey. (Turkey has conditioned its support for Nabucco on progress of its accession talks with the union, which are hampered by objections from Cyprus.)

The Prague summit will also bring together leaders of four former Soviet republics, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine, for the formal launch of the "Eastern partnership" proposed by the EU. Leaders of Belarus and Moldova are expected to stay out over their disputes with EU member-states.

Freedom House catalogues worldwide media struggles

"Journalists faced an increasingly grim working environment in 2008," the Freedom House reported in its annual report released on May 1. The think tank's research registered global decline for the seventh year in a row and, for the first time, a decline in every region of the world.

The biggest decline of any region was again registered in Eastern Europe / Former Soviet Union, but even countries like Israel, Italy, and Hong Kong were relegated from "free" to "partly free" status.

Country reports were not available as of press time, but the think tank was expected to again put Armenia's press environment in the "not free" category, as in several preceding reports.

Obama deals with Armenian genocide issue by sticking close to Clinton-Bush approach; new Caspian envoy appointed

First published in April 25, 2009 Armenian Reporter

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

Obama, Biden tout genocide prevention

On April 23, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both took part in events to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In a speech at the Capitol Rotunda, Mr. Obama stressed the importance of confronting genocide denial as well as working toward genocide prevention.

“We have the opportunity to commit ourselves to resisting injustice, intolerance, and indifference in whatever forms they may take, whether confronting those who tell
lies about history or doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities,” the president said.

[The following day, on April 24, Pres. Obama deferred to Turkey in not using the term Armenian genocide in his first Armenian Remembrance Day statement. The statement, which again referred to Mr. Obama's past affirmation of the genocide, caused a mild irritation of the Turkish government and was harshly criticized by Armenian American organizations. - E.S.]

Genocide prevention should be treated “not just as a moral imperative,” but also as a “national security priority,” Vice President Biden said in remarks at a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum event.

Responding to genocide is “strategically necessary,” he said. “When genocide goes unchecked America’s credibility and leadership is tarnished.”

U.S. avoids Armenian genocide references, promotes Armenia-Turkey talks

Vice President Joe Biden telephoned President Serge Sargsian twice this week to discuss Armenia’s talks with Turkey, and the State Department encouraged the two countries to reach “normalization [of relations] without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.”

According to the Armenian president’s office, the first conversation took place on April 20. Just two days later the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministries issued a joint statement. That April 22 statement committed Armenia and Turkey to continued talks on normalization of relations in accordance with a “road map” that has not yet been made public. The same day, the State Department welcomed the development in a press release.

In a follow-up call on April 23, Mr. Biden welcomed the “statement regarding [Armenia’s and Turkey’s] commitment to normalize their relations,” the White House press office reported the same day. He also “applauded President Sargsian’s leadership, and underscored the Administration’s firm support for both Armenia and Turkey in this process.”

Also this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed optimism about Armenia- Turkey talks and the Karabakh peace process. Speaking in hearings held by congressional committees two days before Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day and just hours before a joint Armenia-Turkis statement on talks, Mrs. Clinton did not refer to and was not asked about the genocide.

Like her predecessor Condoleezza Rice did in the past, Mrs. Clinton only alluded to the Genocide as “shared tragic history” that needs to be addressed by Armenians and Turks.

At the House Foreign Affairs committee on April 22, the subject of Armenia was brought up by Turkey Caucus co-chair Rep. Robert Wexler (D.-Fla.) who asked about “possible extraordinary breakthroughs” between Armenia and Turkey. (As it turned out Mr. Wexler had "heads up" from State Department and/or Ankara about the upcoming joint statement.)

Turkish officials and their Washington lobbyists have been playing up the likelihood of such a “breakthrough” for weeks, while simultaneously warning U.S. leaders not to refer to the Genocide, as that might prevent the would-be “breakthroughs.”

Mrs. Clinton responded that she has “been very encouraged by the bold steps that have recently been taken by Turkish and Armenian leaders to reconcile their countries with each other and with their shared and painful past.” She did not specify the “bold steps,” adding that the United States has been asked to and was supporting Armenia-Turkey “reconciliation” efforts.

Hillary Clinton "reassures" Azerbaijan about Karabakh talks


Mr. Wexler also asked about the Karabakh conflict. In response, Mrs. Clinton said the United States has “assured the government of Azerbaijan that we will intensify our efforts to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and other outstanding issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

She promised that the United States would continue to be “deeply engaged” through the OSCE Minsk Group, adding that she hoped that “there will be some resolution in the next month.”

Asked about that latter comment, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza declined to comment on the secretary’s stated timeframe, but said that he, along with the French and Russian envoys for Karabakh talks “welcome continuing progress in efforts with Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the final differences in the Basic Principles for a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.”

In a comment to the Armenian Reporter, Mr. Bryza added, “The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are demonstrating mutual respect for each other, as they engage in give-and-take discussions that are gaining momentum.” Foreign aid

Also at the hearing, committee member Rep. Brad Sherman (D.- Calif.) suggested that the United States should increase aid to Armenia and either “eliminate or at least maintain parity” in military aid to Azerbaijan; the secretary of state was expected to respond to that issue in writing.

On April 23, Mrs. Clinton spoke to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, which authorizes foreign affairs funding, to request an additional $7 billion for State Department and foreign operations as part of an $84 billion in supplemental funding request for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The supplemental also included “assistance for Georgia that the prior administration promised that we believe we should fulfill,” Mrs. Clinton said in a prepared statement. Shortly after the war last August, the Bush administration pledged $1 billion in aid to Georgia.

Clinton-era official re-appointed as U.S.’ Caspian envoy

On April 20 Ambassador Richard Morningstar was appointed Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy to “provide the Secretary [of State] with strategic advice on policy issues relating to development, transit, and distribution of energy resources in Eurasia.”

Amb. Morningstar already worked in similar capacity in 1998–99, before being appointed U.S. ambassador to the European Union (1999–2001). In 1995–98, Mr. Morningstar was the official in charge of U.S. aid programs in the former Soviet republics. In recent years he was an adjunct lecturer at Harvard and Stanford universities.

Amb. Morningstar is now likely to focus on what is known as the Nabucco gas pipeline – intended to link non-Russian gas producers such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and possibly Iran to European consumers via pipelines that don’t cross Russia and thus reduce Europe’s dependence on that country.

In recent months, the Nabucco scheme came under greater strain as Azerbaijan hinted it might sell its natural gas to Russia, and Turkey sought to use the project as leverage in its talks with the EU, which has already authorized some initial funding for the gas pipeline.

Briefly: Bush nominates Armenia, Caspian envoys; NATO summit stalls expansion; AKP vs. military in Turkey; Knesset committee to discuss Genocide

First published in April 5, 2008 Armenian Reporter.

Washington Briefing
by Emil Sanamyan

Bush nominates ambassador to Armenia, designates new Eurasia energy envoy

On March 28, the White House formally announced President George Bush’s intention to nominate Marie Yovanovitch, current the U.S. ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, as the U.S. ambassador to Armenia. (See the March 29, 2008, Armenian Reporter for background on Amb. Yovanovitch).

Upon receipt of the formal nomination, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), will schedule a hearing on the candidacy.

The president has also satisfied a request by Sen. Biden and the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Dick Lugar (R.-Ind.), made last October, to appoint a “special representative” dedicated to Caspian energy issues. On March 31, President Bush announced that the special envoy for the European Union, Boyden Gray, will also serve as special envoy for Eurasian energy to promote the U.S.-led efforts to channel Central Asian oil and gas to Europe while bypassing Russia and Iran.

Previously, U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Steve Mann held that responsibility.

NATO allies stall U.S. push for Georgia, Ukraine membership

In spite of public lobbying by President Bush for NATO to begin immediate membership talks with Ukraine and Georgia, opposition from Germany and France effectively stalled the effort at the alliance summit held in Romania April 2–4, U.S. media reported.

The U.S. position that NATO should offer membership action plans (MAPs) to the two countries was backed by the United Kingdom, and Canada as well as new NATO members of Eastern Europe, but it was opposed by most Western European countries, with senior German and French officials citing their reluctance to aggravate relations with Russia.

However, in a compromise decision on April 3, NATO promised eventual membership for Georgia and Ukraine and said that it would review their applications for MAPs again in December.

Greece in turn had delayed a formal invitation to the Balkan state of Macedonia, in a long-running dispute over the country’s name, which is identical to that of one of the northern Greek provinces.

NATO countries agreed without controversy to invite Croatia and Albania to join the alliance. European countries also agreed to bolster the NATO forces in Afghanistan and endorse the U.S.-proposed European missile defense system to preempt a potential threat from Iran.

The missile defense issue is expected to be the focus of President Bush’s discussion in Russia, where he will meet President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Dmitry Medvedev this weekend.

Turkey’s high court to consider ban on ruling party

In a politically charged decision, the Turkish Constitutional Court agreed unanimously on March 31 to consider a ban on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

If agreed to, the ban would also bar 71 of AKP’s senior members, including the country’s president and prime minister, from politics for a period of five years. Turkish analyst Cengiz Candar told the New York Times that the court’s decision was “not a legal act; it’s political.”

The case is likely to drag on for many months, and is expected to be used as a political leverage by the AKP government’s opponents.

The proposal was brought by the public prosecutor’s office, which along with the judiciary remain some of the last bastions of the secular-military establishment after the Islamist-leaning AKP swept the parliament last year and succeeded in getting one of its own elected as Turkey’s president.

The opponents argue that AKP is steering the country away from constitutionally mandated secularism and wants to impose Islamic laws; they particularly cite AKP’s effort to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves in universities. The indictment alleged in part that the ruling party was part of a U.S. conspiracy to install “moderate Islamic regimes.”

The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice, meantime, decided to delist PKK – the Kurdish rebel group – from the European Union (EU) list of terrorist organization, citing lack of proper justification, Radio Netherlands reported on April 3. The EU is expected to appeal that decision.

Intermittent clashes between Turkish armed forces and the Kurdish rebels continue, with deadly fighting reported in the southeastern Sirnak province reported by Turkish officials on April 2.

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Knesset committee sends Armenian Genocide motion to a closed-door committee over sponsors’ objections

The Rules Committee of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted 11 to 7 on April 1 to submit a motion on the discussion of the Armenian Genocide to the Knesset’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Russian-language Israeli news agency newsru.il reported.

According to Knesset member Ze’ev Elkin, who is with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party, a Rules Committee member Zahava Gal-On of the leftist Meretz party requested a revision of the ruling, which will be considered after the Knesset returns from recess on May 19.

The proponents of the discussion, including Mr. Elkin and the motion’s original sponsor Chaim Oron (also with Meretz), have called for the issue to be considered by the Education and Culture Committee, which holds open hearings.

The opponents prefer the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, since its hearings are typically held behind closed doors.

Knesset member Yosef Shagal, who led the opposition to the discussion, told the Azerbaijani Trend news agency that he expects the latter committee to “close this problem.” A native of Soviet Azerbaijan, Mr. Shagal is with Yisrael Beitanu party of Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Liberman.

The April 1 debate included a sharp polemic between Mr. Shagal and Mr. Elkin, himself an immigrant from Soviet Ukraine. Mr. Shagal called the measure “populist.” Mr. Elkin responded that Mr. Shagal’s late party colleague Yuri Shtern was also one of the measure’s proponents. In a followup Russian language response Mr. Shagal reportedly called Mr. Elkin a “goat” and threatened physical violence against him.

Mr. Elkin later said that he regretted that the debate turned ugly.

In a comment for newsru.il, Mr. Shagal argued that the Jewish community in “hot-headed” Azerbaijan may be threatened should the discussion on the Armenian Genocide
proceed any further. Citing the importance of the relationship with Turkey, successive Israeli governments have sought to avoid discussion of the issue.

On March 26, the Israeli Knesset voted for the first time in its history to discuss the Armenian Genocide, in a decision its proponents called “historic.” Following the vote, senior Israeli officials told the local daily Yediot Aharanot that the decision was “out of place and undesired.”

Meantime, an Azerbaijani Parliament member Fazil Gazanfaroglu drafted a resolution on “Israeli genocide policy against Palestinians since 1967” and threatened that it would be adopted should the Knesset recognize the Armenian genocide, the Azerbaijan Press Agency reported on April 2.

Anonymous Turkish officials appeared confident that there is not sufficient support in the Knesset for the measure to be adopted, Zaman newspaper reported on March 28.

Briefly: U.S., Israel vs. Iran; trans-Caspian and Georgia transit

First published in the August 25, 2007 Armenian Reporter.

From Washington, in brief
by Emil Sanamyan

* Report: U.S. to strike at Iran within six months?

U.S. officials have once again turned up the heat on Iran. The U.S. is accusing the elite branch of Iran's military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), of supporting attacks against American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of August 15, according to the Washington Post and other media, the U.S. will soon be classifying the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

"Reports that the Bush Administration will put IRGC on the terrorism list can be read in one of two ways: it's either more bluster or, ominously, a wind-up for a strike on Iran," wrote former U.S. intelligence operative Robert Baer in his August 18 Time magazine column.

Mr. Baer served with the Central Intelligence Agency in Lebanon during the 1980s Iran-backed Hezbollah attacks on U.S. forces and diplomats. He was also the CIA's Caucasus and Central Asia manager in the mid-1990s. He left the CIA in 1997. The 2006 film Syriana is based primarily on Mr. Baer's autobiographical books, written after leaving the CIA.

"Officials I talk to in Washington vote for a hit on the IRGC [and other Iranian targets], maybe within the next six months," Mr. Baer predicted, admitting that "frankly they're guessing; after Iraq the White House trusts no one, especially the bureaucracy."

U.S.-Iranian relations first deteriorated after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, but tensions have increased in recent years over Iran's advances in nuclear technology. A U.S. aerial attack on Iran has been repeatedly predicted before.

In addition to bilateral and international sanctions, last month the U.S. announced plans to pour billions of dollars worth of advanced weaponry to Iran's opponents and neighboring states. (See From Washington in Brief in the August 4 Armenian Reporter.)
In response, U.S. officials believe, Iran is reaching out to America's radical Sunni opponents in Afghanistan with whom Iran almost went to war with prior to 2001, and who loathe Iran's Shiite regime.

MSNBC analyst Rick Francona suggested on August 16 that Iran is simply following the adage that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" -- just as the U.S. did when it supported Saddam Hussein's Iraq against Iran in the 1980-88 war.

* Iranian president touts "brotherly" ties with Azerbaijan in regional diplomatic push

Iran is also reaching out to its other neighbors. President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has kept a busy travel schedule this month, visiting U.S.-backed Afghanistan on August 14. He was hosted against Washington's wishes and denied claims that his government was backing Taliban forces, the Guardian reported the same day.

Also in August, while Tehran hosted the Iraqi Prime Minister, Turkey's re-elected prime minister confirmed plans for a multibillion dollar joint energy investment project with Iran.

From Kabul the Iranian president flew to Turkmenistan for bilateral talks, and then to Kyrgyzstan for the August 16 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, which included leaders of Russia and China.

On August 21-22, Mr. Ahmadinejad made a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, his third trip to that country in as many years. During his visit he was once again urged to endorse a more local concern: Baku's claims on Karabakh and efforts to undermine Armenia.

However, in a joint press conference with President Ilham Aliyev, Mr. Ahmadinejad said that he wanted to see progress in both neighboring countries and spoke of a need to resolve the Karabakh conflict peacefully through negotiations and, according to Azerbaijani media, "on the basis of justice and law."

Among the bilateral agreements signed were several transportation and hydro-energy projects in Azerbaijani-controlled Nakhichevan (in particular, a proposed dam near Ordubad on the Arax River that may potentially impact the river's downstream flow along Armenian territory).

In an indirect reference to U.S. efforts to recruit Azerbaijan against Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad was quoted by his state news agency as saying: "There are some forces that do not want our friendship, and try to sour our relations. But they are wrong. Iranian and Azeri nations are brothers."

And BBC News reported on August 22: "Azerbaijan has repeatedly said it would not allow American troops to use its territory to attack neighboring countries."

* Israel's "Minister for National Fears" also in Baku

Just days before meeting the Iranian President, senior Azerbaijani officials hosted Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Threats (read Iran) Avigdor Lieberman, on August 16. Mr. Lieberman heads the right-wing "Israel, Our Home" party and is known for his tough anti-Arab rhetoric. In a May 2007 Atlantic Monthly profile, he was dubbed Israel's "Minister for National Fears" because of his support for preemptive action against countries and groups that he sees as threats to Israel's existence.

Israeli officials and Jewish organizations have long sought the establishment of an Azerbaijani embassy, something that Azerbaijani officials continue to refuse to do in apparent deference to Iran.

Mr. Lieberman, who lived in Soviet Azerbaijan before immigrating to Israel in 1978 at the age of 21, suggested that in the absence of an embassy, a commercial representation might suffice.

He also went a rhetorical step further than the typically neutral Israeli official position on the Karabakh conflict. He said in Russian that "the official position of the state of Israel is that we recognize the sovereignty of Azerbaijan in the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh." In the video carried by the Azerbaijani Trend News Agency, he said that the Jewish lobby backs Azerbaijan around the world.

But in an unusual concurrence with the views of Mr. Ahmadinejad, Mr. Lieberman added that "the [Karabakh] issue can only be resolved through a peace process, through negotiations."

* U.S. to fund a trans-Caspian pipeline feasibility study

As part of the U.S. strategy to facilitate non-Russian and non-Iranian energy deliveries to Turkey and Europe, the U.S. will grant Azerbaijan $1.7 million to study the feasibility of running oil and gas pipelines from Central Asia under the Caspian Sea, RFE/RL reported on August 16.

Assistant Secretary of State Dan Sullivan, who was the U.S. cosigner to the grant deal, said it was the largest amount the U.S. Trade Development Agency has ever spent on a feasibility study in the region. Mr. Sullivan said that the funding underscored the project's importance.

The U.S. previously secured the bulk of about $4 billion for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that became operational last year and is also backing the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. RFE/RL cited the Azerbaijani daily Ekho as estimating on August 17 that the undersea link-up to the two pipelines might cost $11.5 billion to build.

* Anonymous investors to manage Georgian railway

A group of unnamed investors have pledged to invest $1 billion over 10 years in Georgia's railway infrastructure, in exchange for 99-year management rights, civil.ge and other Georgian media reported on August 16. The mystery group has set up a British-registered "Parkfield Investment Ltd.," which already has the management rights from the Georgian government.

Neighboring Azerbaijan and especially Armenia rely heavily on the Georgian railway for cargo transportation to Europe. Georgia's 29-year-old Economics Minister, Giorgi Arveladze said that the investors promised to keep existing tariffs and fees through the next year, and "agree all further changes in tariffs with the government for five years after 2009."

Sarah Kendall, a London-based spokesperson for the group told civil.ge on August 20 that "when all the formalities are done we will be revealing the investors."
The arrangement was announced just days after Azerbaijan transferred to Georgia the first $40 million of a $220-million low-interest loan for the construction of a railway between Akhalkalaki and the Turkish border, which will bypass Armenia.
Earlier this year, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan bought the Kulevi oil terminal on Georgia's Black Sea coast.

But Georgian media speculation has so far focused on Russian money being behind the deal. Russia is known to have expressed interest in both the Armenian and Georgian railroads.

In another development, in findings released on August 22 European experts appeared to confirm Georgian charges that a Russian military aircraft violated Georgian airspace on August 6 and apparently jettisoned a missile that landed without exploding near the breakaway province of South Ossetia (see Washington in Brief in the August 11 Reporter.)

But as RFE/RL reported on August 22, Russia continues to deny its aircraft was involved and called the incident a "provocation organized ... in Georgia."
In the meantime, Georgia claimed that on August 21 another Russian aircraft entered Georgian airspace, this time near Abkhazia, the other breakaway province in Georgia. Officials in Tbilisi said this was the ninth "act of aggression" to take place in the last three months.