Armenia, Iran differ over Ahmadinejad schedule

By Hasmik Mkrtchian

YEREVAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad failed to show up for two scheduled events during a visit to Armenia and returned home on Tuesday, but he denied Armenian reports that he had cut short his trip.

"The presidents agreed last night that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad needed to cut short his visit," the chief spokesman for Armenian President Robert Kocharyan told reporters.

"Ahmadenijad had urgent reasons to end his visit ahead of time," he added.

On his return to Tehran, Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying he had stayed in Armenia longer than scheduled.

"My trip to Armenia was longer than initially planned. This visit was supposed to last 22 hours, but it lasted 90 minutes longer than planned," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as telling reporters.

Earlier, the news agency quoted Ahmadinejad's top adviser, Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, denying any change in plan. "The visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian delegation to Armenia is going ahead as scheduled," he said.

Ahmadinejad had been due to visit the memorial of victims of what Armenia describes as the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and address the national parliament.

He was also due to meet members of the Iranian community in Yerevan and visit a mosque.