The Chairman of the Azerbaijan Republic State Committee for Work with Religious Associations (SCWRA), Prof. Rafik Aliyev, visited Great Britain, March 3 to 7, on an official invitation by the chairman of England-Azerbaijan society, Lord Fraizer. Mr. Rafik Aliyev met with the members of the House of Lords, Upper house of the British Parliament on March 5. The meeting entitled "Co-existence of religions in a secular state: positive lessons from Azerbaijan" has been arranged by the Anglo-Azerbaij...... полностью

Referring to opposition remarks on the revised wording of the Electoral Code (EC), vice speaker Ziyafat Asgarov told AssA-Irada "this is an attempt to gain political points." Pointing to praise of the document by international experts, the vice speaker stressed that the ruling circles would try to obtain approval of the newly revised wording, as it stipulates the forming of 21-member electoral commissions, which in turn better mirror the present-day realities in Azerbaijan. The mechanism for the...... полностью

Milli Maclis (parliament) discussed the new draft Electoral Code on March 11. MP Alimammad Nuriyev described judge's involvement in electoral commissions as contravening the Constitution of Azerbaijan, urging continuation of serious dialogue on this question. Other opposition MPs reproached the power because of limited time for discussing such an important document. Meanwhile, MP Eldar Ibrahimov protested at the allocation of only six seats in the Central Electoral Commission for the New Azerbai...... полностью

The first round of talks between the government and opposition to discuss the new Electoral Code, began at Milli Maclis (parliament) on Monday. The media was not allowed into the face-to-face meeting between Sahin Aliyev, head of the Presidential Administration's department on legislation and legal examination issues, who is also one of the authors of the document, and Fuad Agayev, a member of the National Independence Party of Azerbaijan, mandated by the Coordinating Center of the Opposition to...... полностью

According to reliable information from Tabriz, the Iranian regime has recently begun to strengthen its military positions bordering Turkey and even more so along the Iranian-Azerbaijani border. Pundits attribute these emergency military measures to possible US war against Iraq, the raising of ethnic problems in South (Iranian) Azerbaijan to the agendas of international organizations and enhanced US and Israeli influence in Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is also claimed that the number Ardabil army...... полностью

A news conference was conducted at the Azerbaijani Ombudsman's office on Wednesday. The Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman), Elmira Suleymanova said that a statement had been prepared urging perpetrators of the monstrous tragedy to be called to account. It was said that the statement would be sent to the UN Secretary General, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Council Secretary General, the European Council Human Rights Commission...... полностью

The Xojali massacre, in which hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians were slaughted by the Armenian military, is being commemorated worldwide, inpsired by the opposition-minded Qarabag Liberation Organization. * On February 25, 1992, Armenian troops supported by Russia's motorized infantry regiment 366 occupied the Xocali district of Azerbaijan and razed it to the ground. As a result, 613 people were murdered horribly, eight families were wiped out, 150 people went missing, some 1,000 civilians were ...... полностью

The visiting top Japanese diplomat said in Baku on Monday that his country would reconsider its position over the Armenian-Azerbaijani Upper Qarabag conflict. * "Japan's present stance on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Upper Qarabag conflict may not satisfy Azerbaijan, that's why we are still determining our position", First Deputy Foreign Minister Tetsuro Yano said in an interview with journalists. * The Japanese official noted that he had been fully informed about the conflict within his two-day vis...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, on an official visit to the US at the invitation of President Bush, will meet the US President on Wednesday to discuss issues related to ensuring regional peace and stability, the Iraqi crisis, US economic interests in Azerbaijan, as well as the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Qarabag. * Furthermore, high-ranking US officials, including the vice-president, ministers for defense, finance, commerce, first deputy US secretary of state department, US pre...... полностью

* The Russian security chief Vladimir Rushaylo and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ramiz Mehdiyev signed an interaction plan between the Azerbaijani and Russian Security Councils for 2003-2004 in Baku on February 20. * The signing concluded the three-day talks between the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Vladimir Rushaylo and high-ranking Azerbaijani government officials over security issues, including concerns arising from the Iraqi crisis and counter-terrorism efforts. * Secretary of th...... полностью

* Qambar Alisoglu Behbudov – 90 * Architect from Susa * Today is the birthday of the Azerbaijan's oldest architect-engineer, Qambar Alisoglu Behbudov. This interesting person, who devoted 67 years of his life to construction, was born in the capital city of the ancient Qarabag region, Susa. * Numerous outstanding figures in the arts, sciences, engineering, and the military  have originated from Susa, which has represented a cultural hub of Azerbaijan during the last centuries. Though musi...... полностью

The US State Department has told AzarTAc news agency that former head of the US diplomatic mission to Kosovo and Pristina Reno Harnish will be the new US ambassador to Azerbaijan. The new ambassador nominated by President George W. Bush would arrive in Baku no sooner than the summer because in this interval the new ambassador's candidacy must pass through voting in the Senate and another post for the incumbent had to be determined. Touching upon Armenian media speculations on the reasons behind ...... полностью

* Chairman of Milli Maclis (Azerbaijani parliament) Murtuz Alasgarov met members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitoring committee on Wednesday. Azeri speaker stressed that Azerbaijan had fulfilled part of its commitments to the Council of Europe (CoE). * The mission, including CE Vice Presidents Andreas Gross and George Clarefight, as well as Danish MP Soren Sonderguard, was visiting Azerbaijan until February 14 to examine the observance of the rights of prison...... полностью

At a meeting with students of the reputable Fletcher Diplomacy School at the Azerbaijani Commercial and Cultural Center, US Deputy Defense Minister for Eurasian issues Mira Richardel has said: "Azerbaijan is a reliable US ally in the counter-terrorism fight and has confirmed it in practice. " Mira Richardel added that the US defense ministry considered it necessary to help Azerbaijan with military reforms. The AssA-Irada correspondent in the US, James Beale says that also attending the meeting ...... полностью

While US ambassador holds PR exercise over Iraq * Azerbaijan has called for Iraq to comply with all UN Security Council resolutions. * "We proceed from the belief that Iraqi authorities will cooperate on a full scale with the international weapons inspectors on the basis of the report by the US secretary of state to the UN Security Council," a Monday statement by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev said. * "Azerbaijan supports US efforts aimed at the destruction of weapons of mass destr...... полностью

* February is to see numerous visits from top Russian officials to Azerbaijan. * The head of the Russian Security Council, Rushaylo, will travel to Azerbaijan on Wednesday following the visit by chairman of the Russian State Duma committee on international issues Rogozin. * The 20 strong delegation is to hold meetings over three days with Azerbaijani national security, defense and interior ministries, as well as President Aliyev. * The Russian embassy in Baku has informed AssA-Irada that Russi...... полностью

* The head of the Caucasus Muslims Clerical Office, Sheik Allahsukur Pasazada, traveled to the Nardaran settlement of Baku on Sunday in an effort to mediate between the parties. Speaking to some 100 settlement elders at a meeting held in the house of one of the leaders, Allahsukur Pasazada said he had met with President Heydar Aliyev, who prefers to resolve problems through negotiation. Hajji Gulaga a settlement leader, said that Sheik Allahsukur Pasazada had conveyed the president's regards to...... полностью

* Top presidential official outlines Gov’t position on a range of issues * Azerbaijan supports the US position on current global developments, including the Iraqi issue, as it considers the US to be a strategic ally, the head of the international relations department of the Presidential Administration, Novruz Mammadov stated at a news conference on Friday. * He said Iraq must comply with UN Security Council resolutions to the letter so that the process did not damage both Iraq and the region as...... полностью

A Greek governmental delegation will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on April 11-12 to mull prospects for bilateral relations. Issues on versatile economic cooperation will be the focus of the talks. Moreover, the visit will center on preparations for Greek President Constantinos Stefanopoulos's planned trip to Azerbaijan in May. The Greek embassy in Azerbaijan said that the delegation headed by First Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverzos would also include representatives of Greek gas ...... полностью

Once again the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce sent a mission to Azerbaijan. The British delegation led by Reith Still from the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce arrived in Baku on Monday on a working visit. The mission of eleven companies, mainly involved in the energy sector, is going to study the opportunities of establishing cooperation in oil and gas field. Reith Still is a regular visitor to Baku and this year he led a group of companies, most of which are new to Azerb...... полностью

Middle East Peace Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey on January 23 involving foreign ministers of six Middle Eastern countries Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iran. They discussed the Iraqi problem at the summit that lasted some 13 hours. The summit adopted a declaration urging Iraq to comply with all UN resolutions and fully cooperate with UN weapons inspectors. It is interesting that the declaration sends some ulterior messages to the US and Israel as the former is indirectly c...... полностью

A session of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg has discussed Azerbaijan and Armenia's performance of their commitments to peaceful regulation of the Qarabag conflict. Participating in the session were CoE Secretary General Walter Shvimmer, permanent representatives of the member states, OSCE Minisk Group co-chairmen, and Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents' special envoys for the settlement of the Qarabag conflict Araz Azimov and Tatul Markaryan. At their own initiative, the OSCE Minsk ...... полностью

Martinez Kassan, the co-rapporteur on Azerbaijan of the CE Parliamentary Assembly’s (PACE) monitoring committee, held a news conference at the Greek embassy in Baku on Friday. The co-rapporteur expressed his satisfaction with the current visit to Azerbaijan, though he noted some faults. Kassan said he had traveled to the Northern regions of the country, where he had met with ethnic minorities, stressing normal relations between them and the government. Nevertheless, the visitor regretted over th...... полностью

The head of the permanent mission of the Azerbaijani Milli Maclis (parliament) to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Ilham Aliyev was elected as the PACE Vice-President on January 27. He was also elected as PACE's Bureau member. The election was seen by Azerbaijani public as an important historic event, since Azerbaijani politician occupied a highest ever position in an authoritative international organization. In an interview to local press, Ilham Aliyev considered hi...... полностью