This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS YEREVAN 001523 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, EUR/PGI, DRL, NEA, NGA, NEA/RA 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV IR AM
SUBJECT:  PRESIDENT OF IRAN TO VISIT ARMENIA 
 
REFS:  A) YEREVAN 1420 B) YEREVAN 1474 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Armenian President Robert Kocharian announced June 
24 that Iranian President (Ali) Mohammad Khatami-Ardakani 
would visit Armenia this September.  According to the 
announcement, Khatami will be the first Iranian head of 
state to visit Armenia.  GOAM representatives said the visit 
was intended to "cement friendly relations" between the 
neighboring countries.  Top on the agenda will be upcoming 
joint projects including the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline (ref 
A), the planned hydroelectric power plant on the Arax River 
and the Kajaran tunnel in Armenia's southern Syunik 
province.  This announcement comes on the heels of recent 
visits by GOAM officials to Iran including President 
Kocharian's Chief of Staff Artashes Tumanian and Minister of 
Agriculture Davit Lokyan (ref B). 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) MFA sources tell us that the agenda remains 
tentative.  The GOAM has been careful to portray the 
upcoming meeting as principally economic in nature and has 
downplayed any implications of a major shift in political 
alliances.  Meanwhile, Iranian press reports continue to 
reach Armenia presenting the initiative as a move to enhance 
Iran's regional position.  Armenian-Iranian bilateral 
negotiations, however, are usually subject to long delays, 
and the results are frequently more modest than the two 
governments project publicly. 
ORDWAY