EN
20 February 2001 - 15:32 AMT

AZERBAIJAN IS WORRIED ABOUT FRENCH PRESIDENT’S INITIATIVES

YEREVAN, February 20. /Mediamax/. The initiative of the French President Jacques Chirac, who invited Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to visit Paris in early March to hold talks, excited great apprehension in Baku, Bilik Dunyasi agency reports.
Leader of Azerbaijan’s National Independence Party, Etibar Mamedov thinks Heydar Aliyev can make certain concessions in order to keep his own power. At the same time Mamedov stressed that he had some information concerning this. According to him, at present he’s making this “shady information” more precise, after which his party will take “appropriate measures”.
On Feb. 17 an informed source told Mediamax that meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and France will take place in Paris in early March. The source noted that the meeting is more likely to be held in the period between the visits of President Robert Kocharian to Kiev (March 1-2) and to Vienna (March 6-7). It was supposed earlier that the regular meeting of Armenian and Azeri Presidents would take place on Armenian-Azeri border. But, as the source noted, the participation of the French President Jacques Chirac in the talks “makes this process more effective”. –0–