Sister City plan runs into snag

11/20/2005
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
By Pam Wight Staff Writer

MONTEBELLO - Montebello's newest Sister City program has come under fire from an ambassador for the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The conflict surfaced after Montebello city officials inaugurated the city of Stepanakert for the program Sept. 25.

Stepanakert is a capital city of a disputed region of Azerbaijan.

Now, Azerbaijan Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev has written to both Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Montebello Mayor Bill Molinari, warning that sensitive peace negotiations with Armenia could be disrupted by Montebello's move to create a sister-city relationship with Stepanakert.

Schwarzenegger's office responded by telling Pashayev that it was a local issue and referred his concerns to Molinari.

Molinari answered Pashayev in writing, saying the city would continue with its Sister City plans.

Telephone calls to Pashayev were not returned.
[...]
The Sister City idea was created in the hopes of sharing resources with Nagorno Karabakh and encouraging investment by Americans, Serge Samoniantz, {chairman of the San Gabriel Valley Armenian National Committee and an organizer of the Sister City program in Montebello,} said.
[...]
On Saturday, the president of Nagorno Karabakh visited the Montebello-based Armenian Center as part of an international fund-raising effort to help pay for infrastructure building in the region.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.