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The Upper Garabagh conflict was in the focus of Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov´s meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow last Wednesday. Lavrov said following the meeting that “Russia is interested in a peace settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict, but the problem will be resolved only if the parties come to terms”. (28 August 2004)

Republic of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday the breakaway ethnic Armenian province Nargorno Karabach would have to remain a part of  his country and warned against the dangers of secessionism, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.  (28 August 2004)

The necessity and effectiveness of close co-operation in the fight against human trafficking was emphasized by participants at a one-day seminar held on 26 August by the OSCE Office in Baku.The event is aimed at increasing the overall understanding of the positivebenefits of cooperation between state authorities and non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) in the implementation of a comprehensive NationalAction Plan (NAP) against human trafficking, which was adopted by Republic of Azerbaijan in May of this year. (28 August 2004)

Municipal elections will be held in the Republic of Azerbaijan on December 17, 2004.  The decision on holding the elections has been adopted at a recent meeting of the Central Election Commission of Republic of Azerbaijan (CEC).  21,650 members to 2,735 municipalities will be elected during the polls. At present, there are a total of 4,462,000 electorates in the Republic of Azerbaijan. (23-AUG-2004)

The issue of stationing US military bases in the Republic of Azerbaijan came into spotlight after US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld´s one-day visit to Republic of Azerbaijan at mid-August. The US official´s talks with the government of Republic of Azerbaijan have triggered heated discussions on the issue by the Azeri public and mass media and sparked concerns of the Russian Federation and Islamic Republic of Iran. Media around the world, including the USA, have released reports saying that the US intends to deploy forces in the Republic of Azerbaijan. (22 August 2004)

Taliyat Aliyev, the Secretary on Organizational Issues of Republic of Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) has been detained by Prosecutor Administration of Nasimi District on 12 August 2004. He was detained in relation to the scandal at the court trial of seven opposition party leaders, who were arrested just aftermath the disputed presidential elections of last fall. (16 August 2004)

 The heads of the Republic of Azerbaijan Foundation of Democracy Development and Human Rights Protection (AFDHR) Murad and Rena Sadaddinov held a roundtable, where the problems of former members of the Special Police Squad (SPS)  were mulled over.  The SPS members, who were imprisoned due to their alleged involvement in the coup attempt of 1995, raised the difficulties that they faced after their release. (15 August 2004)

Since the beginning of 2004, 11 people have died and 12 injured as result of mine explosion on the front line territories of Republic of Azerbaijan, Interfax reported on Friday. “According to statistics made by the Republic of Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), since September 2001, 36 people have died and 47 injured,” said the ANAMA Press Office. (15 August 2004)

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteurs on Republic of Azerbaijan Andreas Gross (Switzerland) and Andreas Herkel (Estonia) visited Baku on August 4-9 to monitor Azerbaijan´s compliance with the commitments made to the CE upon its admission. They are also expected to prepare a report upon completion of their visit to be heard by the CE Monitoring Committee in September. (14 August 2004)