President Ilham Aliyev started his official visit to Japan on Tuesday as part of his tour of the Oriental countries. The two countries are expected to sign a number of bilateral documents during the visit to last till Friday. President Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva will meet with the Emperor and Empress and hold talks with the country’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The parties will conclude a memorandum on cooperation between the two foreign ministers and an agreement on provis...... полностью

Occupation by any state of another country’s land is illegal, Deputy Commander of the US European Command, General Charles Wald said in a meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev on Friday. The US General noted that Washginton intends to increase attention to the conflict, saying that its resolution by diplomatic means would benefit both sides. Minister Abiyev said Azerbaijan gives preference to peace talks for the conflict settlement. Armenia holds on to its oc...... полностью

US President George Bush sent a letter to President Ilham Aliyev on Friday congratulating him and the Azerbaijani people on the Day of Independence. The US President pointed out the achievements made by the two countries over the recent years. "Cooperation in the global war on terror, establishing peace in Iraq, building the East-West corridor to transport energy resources and Azerbaijan's economic development are the brilliant examples of this. I look forward to close collaboration between ou...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on Friday pardoning 264 prisoners. This is the fourth amnesty decree signed by Ilham Aliyev during his presidency. The imprisonment term of two prisoners was halved. The majority of the pardoned are those who were sentenced to imprisonment by military courts. Alikram Humbatov, who is charged with high treason, is also among pardoned.* ... читать

On August 4 President Ilham Aliyev is expected to meet with athletes to participate in the upcoming Athens Olympics at the Zagulba Youth and Tourism Center and wish them good luck in the competition. The athletes are due to leave for Greece on August 10. Azerbaijan will be represented by 37 athletes playing 12 sports. President Aliyev is expected to leave for Greece to watch the tournament. He is also expected to organize a reception on the occasion of the Azerbaijani Days in Athens on August...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev is scheduled to pay a two-day official visit to Kiev, the Ukraine on June 3, 2004. Vasili Baziv, head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, told a briefing on Friday that during the visit President Aliyev and his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma would discuss bilateral cooperation, mutual relations within international and regional cooperation as well as cooperation in transportation of energy resources to Europe. A number of bilateral documents are also planned to be ...... полностью

The Press Council (PC) held the 2nd congress of Azerbaijani journalists on Saturday. The event was attended by chairman of Turkey’s Press Council and Ali Hasanov, head of the President’s Palace socio-political department. Touching upon the one-year activity of the PC, Hasanov said the Council had failed to achieve its goals. He related the failure to the lack of public support and financial constraints and vowed to do his utmost to ensure that the PC be granted an appropriate building. Str...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev held a private meeting with his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday. The two presidents focused on the development of bilateral cooperation and continuation of economic relations. The private meeting was followed by a large meeting with participation of government delegation of the two countries. At the end of the meeting, a number of bilateral agreements were signed. Ministers for education and foreign affairs of the two countries signed agreements on c...... полностью

A Georgian delegation headed by President Mikhail Saakashvili arrived in Baku on Thursday. Saying that his visit to Azerbaijan after Russia and the United States proves that he attaches great importance to this country, Saakashvili noted that he would discuss a number of important issues with President Ilham Aliyev. Saakashvili was born in the family of an educated man in Tbilisi on December 21, 1967. His father Nikolos Saakashvili is a doctor and mother - a historian. After leaving secondary...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev received Prince Michael of Kent, a member of the British royal family and the founder and guardian of the British Genesis Initiative organization, on Wednesday. Expressing his satisfaction with high level political and economic cooperation between the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan, President Aliyev voiced his confidence that the bilateral relationships would develop in other spheres. Aliyev underlined that British companies took active part in successful implementation o...... полностью

According to Kazakh media reports, Iranian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Murtaza Saffari has told a recent news conference in Almaty that his country was in bilateral talks with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on delimitation of the Caspian Sea. Noting that Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan have achieved certain progress regarding the Caspian issue, Saffari said that Iran had launched the negotiations with a view to achieve consensus and mutual understanding with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Underlini...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev, who has been in Russia for an official visit since February 5, held private meetings with Igor Ivanov, Russian Foreign Minister, and Boris Gromov, Governor of the Moscow region, early on Saturday. Later in the day, Aliyev delivered a lecture at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MSIIR) where he has graduated from and worked for a while. On the decision of the Institute’s Scientific Council, President Aliyev was awarded the title of Honorary Doctorate of ...... полностью

Laurie Bristow, new British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, presented a copy of his credentials to Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev on Monday. Congratulating the Ambassador on his new appointment, Guliyev characterized relationships between United Kingdom and Azerbaijan as traditionally friendly ones. He voiced his confidence that the newly appointed Ambassador would take advantage of his experience in strengthening the bilateral relationships and development of political, economic, cultural and hum...... полностью

The Azerbaijani-Iranian negotiations over the Caspian legal status is scheduled to be held in Baku late in January. The Foreign Ministry told AssA-Irada that the talks to be held in the direction of bringing the two countries’ standpoints closer were preparations for a meeting of the working groups of five Caspian states due in Baku on March 16-18. Mehdi Safari, Deputy Foreign Minister and Iranian President’s Special Envoy on Caspian Issues, is scheduled to arrive in Baku to attend the bilate...... полностью

Azerbaijan's incumbent President Heydar Aliyev, who has been receiving medical treatment abroad since July 8, is not expected to attend the Friday inauguration of his son Ilham Aliyev, Hafiz Pashayev, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States has told Azerbaijan’s ATV channel. "The president's return home depends on his doctors’ decision. I don't think he will take part in the inauguration," he said. Pashayev noted that Heydar Aliyev was taking successful treatment at the Cleveland Clinic ...... полностью

The Central Election Commission (CEC) sent on Tuesday a final protocol of the October 15 presidential elections to the Constitution Court (CC) for approval. The CC told AssA-Irada the court was expected to make a decision shortly, though the deadline set forth by the Election Code was October 29. The date for the inauguration ceremony of newly elected President Ilham Aliyev will be fixed after three days of publication of information on the CC’s approval in the state-run newspapers. A well-i...... полностью

Jean-Lui Toran, Secretary of the International Relations Department of Vatican’s State Secretariat, arrived in Baku after his tour of Armenia and Georgia on Tuesday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry. The same day Toran paid tribute at the Cemetery of Martyrs. Deputy Foreign Minister Xalaf Xalafov, who first received the visitor, stressed that Azerbaijan gave great importance to relations with Vatican. In particular, President Heydar Aliyev’s visit to Italy in 1997...... полностью

Experts of the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights Vincent Qussirat-Kuster of France and Mrs. Fatos Araci of Turkey will hold a workshop, European standards and legislation in media, at the International Press Center in Baku on July 9-10. CE Baku Office told AssA-Irada organized jointly by the President’s Palace and the Council of Europe the event will focus on exchange of opinions on the items on freedom of speech of the Convention on Human Rights . * ... читать

A Wednesday meeting of the Musavat Party’s Assembly nominated the party leader Isa Qambar for presidency, the party has told AssA-Irada. The gathering also decided to set up the party’s election headquarters, as the party’s Deputy Chairman Arif Hacili was appointed chairman of the headquarters. Also attending the meeting were executives of the parties incorporated in «Our Azerbaijan» election bloc. Mr. Qambar comes as the eleventh candidature nominated by political parties, as Yunus Oguz (from ...... полностью

Посол США в Азербайджане Росс Вильсон сообщил журналистам, что новый посол, назначенный президентом Джорджем Бушем, прибудет в Баку не раньше лета, поскольку в этом промежутке кандидатура посла должна пройти голосование в Сенате и должна быть определена должность для уходящего посла. Коснувшись комментариев в армянской прессе о новом назначении, Росс Вильсон сказал, что нет нужды двусмысленно говорить о назначении опытного дипломата Рино Харниша, который возглавлял миссии США в Косово и Приштин...... полностью

The US ambassador to Azerbaijan Ross Wilson told journalists that the new ambassador nominated by President George W. Bush would arrive in Baku no sooner than the summer as in this interval the new ambassador’s candidacy must pass through voting in the Senate and the further job for the incumbent ambassador had to be designated. Touching upon Armenian media comments on the new nomination, Ross Wilson said there was no need to equivocate as to the appointment of experienced diplomat Reno Harnis...... полностью

Государственный Департамент США сообщил агенству новостей АзарТАс, что бывший глава американской дипломатической миссии в Косово и Пришитина Рино Харниш будет назачен новым послом США в Азербайджане. Рино Харниш работал в качестве заместителя посла США в Швеции с 1993 по 1996, заместителем главы американской дипломатической миссии в Египте в сентябре 1999 – 2002 года, где он провел огромную работу с египетским правительством по решению израильско-палестинского конфликта. Согласно Государстве...... полностью

The US State Department has told AzarTAc news agency that former head of the US diplomatic mission to Kosovo and Prishtina Reno Harnish will be appointed as new US ambassador to Azerbaijan. Reno Harnish has worked as deputy US ambassador to Sweden for a period 1996-1993, deputy head of the US diplomatic mission to Cairo in September 1999-2002, where he exerted immense efforts with the Egyptian government for the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the US State Departm...... полностью

Президент Азербайджана Гейдар Алиев подписал указ об освобождении 116 заключенных. Согласно пресс-службе Администрации Президента в числе отпущенных заключенных 36 человек осуждены за преступления против независимости, государства и территориальной целостности Азербайджана, а другие являются членами нелегальных вооруженных соединений, принимавших участие в попытке военного переворота в Гяндже в 1994 году и члены специальных полицейских частей ОМОН, осужденных за их участие в попытке захвата в...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev has issued a pardoning decree to discharge 116 prisoners from the remaining period of their sentence. According to the Presidential Administration press service, the pardoned persons include 36 people convicted for involvement in crimes against the independence, statehood and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, while the others were members of illegal armed formations sentenced for participation in coup attempt in Ganca region of Azerbaijan in 1994 and memb...... полностью

Посольство Ирана в Азербайджане планирует организовать церемонию во дворце «Гюлистан» в Баку, чтобы отметить 24 годовщину Иранской революции. В церемонии примут участие официальные лица и дипломаты, сообщило посольство Асса-Ирада. Возглавляемая аятоллой Хомейни, революция свергла режим шаха в Иране 11 февраля 1979 года. Иранский народ с тех пор отмечает этот день как день победы. ... читать

The Iranian embassy in Azerbaijan is planning to organize a ceremony at the Gulustan Palace in Baku to mark the 24th anniversary of the Iranian revolution. Attending the ceremony will be officials and diplomats, the embassy has told AssA-Irada. Led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the revolution overthrew the Shah regime in Iran on February 11, 1979. The Iranian people has been ever since celebrates this date as a victory day. * ... читать

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В понедельник исполнилось 10 лет установления дипломатических отношений между Азербайджаном и Грузией и заместитель министра иностранных дел Азербайджана Халаф Халафов и посол Грузии в Азербайджане Зураб Гумберидзе рассказали на прессконференции, посвященной годовщине, об успехах, достигнутых в результате развития двусторонних отношений за это время. Согласно господину Халафову, две страны являются стратегическими партнерами и они сотрудничают в экономических и международных организациях. Две ст...... полностью

Monday saw the 10th anniversary of the Azerbaijani-Georgian diplomatic relations, as Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Xalaf Xalafov and Georgian ambassador to Azerbaijan Zurab Gumberidze in a news conference dedicated to the anniversary elaborated on the achievements gained as a result of the development of bilateral relations during this period. According to Mr. Xalafov, the two countries are strategic partners, as they cooperate in economy and international organizations. 85 legal-normative...... полностью