AZERBAIJAN - May 22 - Pope Visits.

Pope John Paul II arrives in Baku for a 2-day visit. (This is his first visit to the country of 8m, which boasts a Roman Catholic community of 120 people). Pope John Paul meets privately with Pres. Heydar Aliyev and the head of all Muslims in the Caucasus region Shaikh Allahshukhur Pasha-Zade. Pope John Paul II vows to continue his peace-seeking missions "as long as I have breath within me". Analysts say the Pope wants to soothe Azeris' pride after his visit to neighbouring Armenia in Sept-2001. The Pope pledges for peace and religious tolerance in the country, which has been at war with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. He alludes gently to the need for "honesty and accountability" in politics, and warns that social and economic inequities could lead to a "dangerous nostalgia for the past". He prayed silently in front of a monument dedicated to the victims of Azerbaijan's battles for independence: more than 123 people killed by Soviet troops during a 1990 nationalist uprising. At the meeting with Azeri notables at the presidential palace, the Pope was presented with a carved wooden cross to represent the contested region, which the presenter rather bitterly described as under Armenian control. Gueltekin Hajiyeva, a 29-year-old MP, said after the meeting: "We were very upset when the pope went to Armenia last year. We hoped he would come here and see the conflict from another point of view".