October 11, 2003 - 00:25 AMT
AZERBAIJAN BLOCKED ELECTION OF ARMENIAN REPRESENTATIVE AS TRACECA INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION CHAIRMAN
Azeri party obstructed the appointment of Armenian minister of transport and communications Andranik Manukian to the position of the Secretary General of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) for TRACECA program. In the course of the 3-rd commission sitting that was held in Yerevan, Armenia was elected the presiding country in TRACECA for the nest year, and consequently, the Secretary General had to be appointed to this post. Since the election is exercised by means of consensus, Azerbaijan took the opportunity of hindering the presidency of A. Manukian. In its turn the Armenia party stated that Armenia will henceforth block Azerbaijan's initiatives within the framework of the project. European commission chairman Per Bricks Knudsen censured such a step taken by the Azeri delegation. In his words, TRACECA is an economic project, and political steps are inappropriate here. Meanwhile, Bulgarian representative Lyudmila Trenkova, who will represent Armenia's interests, has been elected the Secretary General of the IGC.