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OSKANIAN MEETS IRANIAN LEADERS
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 18 2006
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and other top Iranian officials on Sunday during a one-day visit
to Tehran which officials said focused on bilateral relations and
regional security.
Official Armenian and Iranian sources reported few details of the
talks, citing only the two sides as reaffirming their commitment to
strengthening political and economic ties between the two neighboring
states.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Ahmadinejad said those ties
"contribute to peace and security in the region," adding that "all
available resources should be exploited to realize their potential."
Oskanian, according to the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, stressed the
importance of the "special relationship" binding Armenia and Iran,
saying that it is based on their "centuries-old friendship and
cultural-historical similarities."
A ministry statement said he discussed a "broad range of bilateral
and regional issues," including the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, at a separate meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki. The two men praised the ongoing construction of
a pipeline that will supply Armenia with Iranian natural gas and a
third transmission line that will link the two countries' power grids,
the statement said.
Another Iranian news agency, Fars, reported in that regard that
Ahmadinejad "stressed the need to speed up" work on the pipeline's
first Armenian section which is financed from a $35 million Iranian
loan.
Armenian officials said earlier that it will be complete by December
20. But speaking to journalists after talks with Oskanian, Mottaki
was reported to say that the 40-kilometer section will not come on
stream before next March.
It is not clear if the two ministers discussed the Armenian
government's plans to incorporate the pipeline into a
Russian-controlled company that runs Armenia's gas distribution
network. Iranian diplomats in Yerevan have said that this can not
happen without Tehran's consent.
Oskanian also met with Iranian parliament speaker Gholamali Haddad
Adel and Ali Larijani, a top security official in charge of the
Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program criticized by
the West. Larijani was reported to brief Oskanian on "the latest
developments relating to Iran's nuclear program."
"At Ali Larijani's request, Minister Oskanian presented the current
phase of negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the statement
said.
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 18 2006
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and other top Iranian officials on Sunday during a one-day visit
to Tehran which officials said focused on bilateral relations and
regional security.
Official Armenian and Iranian sources reported few details of the
talks, citing only the two sides as reaffirming their commitment to
strengthening political and economic ties between the two neighboring
states.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Ahmadinejad said those ties
"contribute to peace and security in the region," adding that "all
available resources should be exploited to realize their potential."
Oskanian, according to the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, stressed the
importance of the "special relationship" binding Armenia and Iran,
saying that it is based on their "centuries-old friendship and
cultural-historical similarities."
A ministry statement said he discussed a "broad range of bilateral
and regional issues," including the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, at a separate meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki. The two men praised the ongoing construction of
a pipeline that will supply Armenia with Iranian natural gas and a
third transmission line that will link the two countries' power grids,
the statement said.
Another Iranian news agency, Fars, reported in that regard that
Ahmadinejad "stressed the need to speed up" work on the pipeline's
first Armenian section which is financed from a $35 million Iranian
loan.
Armenian officials said earlier that it will be complete by December
20. But speaking to journalists after talks with Oskanian, Mottaki
was reported to say that the 40-kilometer section will not come on
stream before next March.
It is not clear if the two ministers discussed the Armenian
government's plans to incorporate the pipeline into a
Russian-controlled company that runs Armenia's gas distribution
network. Iranian diplomats in Yerevan have said that this can not
happen without Tehran's consent.
Oskanian also met with Iranian parliament speaker Gholamali Haddad
Adel and Ali Larijani, a top security official in charge of the
Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program criticized by
the West. Larijani was reported to brief Oskanian on "the latest
developments relating to Iran's nuclear program."
"At Ali Larijani's request, Minister Oskanian presented the current
phase of negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the statement
said.