ID :
153138
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 17:44
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/153138
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New grounds emerging for cooling Azerbaijan-US ties
Tehran, Dec 12, IRNA – Some media in Baku, having noted that the Azerbaijan Republic is unhappy with the US, have suggested possibility of annulment of certain joint programs in the military sector.
The Azeri news agency, “Lent. Az”, quoting a senior Azeri military official, said the present situation would lead to cancellation or suspension of some of the joint programs between the two countries which were planned for 2011.
According to this military official who remains unnamed, the cancellation or suspension of a joint program labeled as the Caspian Sea security and the use of the Azerbaijan republic’s airspace by the US as well as some other cases falling within the same category are being scrutinized in high-profile Baku circles.
He revealed that the outlines of the decisions of the Azeri officials have already been declared to the US officials whereas the details will be discussed during the joint meetings of security and defense cooperation bodies.
The “Express” daily quoted this Azeri military official as saying that the US has carried out joint programs with the Republic of Azerbaijan under pretext of training the Azeri military forces and providing marine security in the republic’s southern borders in the Caspian Sea.
Based on what the paper says, the US, claiming that it is following the so-called law of protecting freedom and also according to the article 907 which prohibits any aid to the Republic of Azerbaijan till the settlement of the Karabakh dispute, has restricted its aid to the country to only providing communication equipment for the Azeri forces which are taking part in foreign peace-keeping activities.
Quoting M?h?mm?d ?qbal Fadilin, who is an expert with the Eurasia Research Center, the daily deemed Azerbaijan’s disinclination towards any participation in the US military programs as possible. He has cited earlier cases of “Azerbaijan’s refraining from carrying out a joint military drill with the US titled “Regional Response” early this year and also preventing flight of NATO reconnaissance planes in its airspace as proofs of such an attitude. On the same grounds, it wrote, changes in pre-planned programs in military areas are foreseeable.
This is while General Elchin Gulyev as the commander of Azerbaijan’s border forces, talking to reporters a few days ago, referred to the quotes made from diplomats of the Azeri embassy in the US about Azeri government and officials which were revealed by WikiLeaks and then rejected as baseless by Azeri officials, saying that after raising such issues, no grounds for cooperation existed any longer.
He stressed that Republic of Azerbaijan, quite contrary to the US, had good ties with other countries including Turkey and the Caspian Sea littoral states and was after strengthening cooperation with them.
Such remarks by an Azeri border commander comes despite the fact that the section under his command was considered as having the highest potential for cooperation with America and really did have some sort of cooperation with it. They even say that the US had indeed offered aid to the Azeri coast guards.
Ildrim Mammadov as an expert with the military research center believes the situation emerging in the US-Azerbaijan ties after the disclosure of diplomatic documents and the double-faced behavior of the US officials, will not let military relations between the two countries remain unaffected.
He added that he believed, given the current situation, further proximity among Caspian Sea regional countries has created an atmosphere which makes presence of forces from overseas countries quite unnecessary.
Heads of the Caspian Sea littoral countries during their third summit last month in Baku, signed an agreement on security cooperation among these states to stress the need for non-militarization of the sea which in itself negates presence for ultra-regional forces in the Caspian sea.
The military expert further stressed that the American aid to Baku served symbolic purposes and stopped at the stage of offering samples of military technology and know-how.
Earlier, the Azeri president, in a statement, voiced his protest to the remarks and correspondence made by American diplomats in Baku which were made public by the WikiLeaks, declaring that all of this was an absolute nonsense which aimed at sabotaging ties between Azerbaijan and its neighbors.
In some of the leaked documents, remarks are attributed to the Azeri president and foreign minister in regards with Turkey and Iran which stand in contradiction with the country’s official policies.
Head of political department of Azerbaijan’s presidential office, Ali Hassanov, in an interview, believed certain countries were unhappy with Azerbaijan’s good relations with its neighbors, stressing that making these documents public took place in line with the same policies to weaken these ties.
The US embassy in Baku issued a statement last week to stress that – without accepting or rejecting these remarks- the reports by the American diplomats were only their own assessments of the different situations and that the US polices were not based on these reports.
The republic of Azerbaijan has a record of differences with the US on issues pertaining to Karabakh dispute.
Last year- and this year likewise- the Azeri officials protested the US measures to render financial help to the self-claimed government of Karabakh. Early this year, too, the invitation extended to the Armenian president by the US President Barack Obama while Azerbaijan did not receive a similar one, triggered tension in mutual relations.
The republic of Azerbaijan assessed the US measure as a gesture to support Armenia in the Karabakh dispute and said it expected the US, as one of the three members of the Minsk group which is duty bound to mediate solutions to the dispute, to remain impartial and then, unilaterally, cancelled a pre-planned joint military drill with the US.
The US, too, for its part, has not yet introduced a new ambassador to Baku after about 18 months since the departure of its previous chief diplomat and the affairs in the US embassy had been administered by temporary chiefs during the period.
It is said that the American officials, during meetings in Baku, were carrying messages on need of changes in the Azeri policies regarding their neighbors. This not only is a clear case of intervention in a country’s domestic policies but stands in strong contradiction with Azerbaijan’s national interests and policies of friendly ties with neighbors./end
The Azeri news agency, “Lent. Az”, quoting a senior Azeri military official, said the present situation would lead to cancellation or suspension of some of the joint programs between the two countries which were planned for 2011.
According to this military official who remains unnamed, the cancellation or suspension of a joint program labeled as the Caspian Sea security and the use of the Azerbaijan republic’s airspace by the US as well as some other cases falling within the same category are being scrutinized in high-profile Baku circles.
He revealed that the outlines of the decisions of the Azeri officials have already been declared to the US officials whereas the details will be discussed during the joint meetings of security and defense cooperation bodies.
The “Express” daily quoted this Azeri military official as saying that the US has carried out joint programs with the Republic of Azerbaijan under pretext of training the Azeri military forces and providing marine security in the republic’s southern borders in the Caspian Sea.
Based on what the paper says, the US, claiming that it is following the so-called law of protecting freedom and also according to the article 907 which prohibits any aid to the Republic of Azerbaijan till the settlement of the Karabakh dispute, has restricted its aid to the country to only providing communication equipment for the Azeri forces which are taking part in foreign peace-keeping activities.
Quoting M?h?mm?d ?qbal Fadilin, who is an expert with the Eurasia Research Center, the daily deemed Azerbaijan’s disinclination towards any participation in the US military programs as possible. He has cited earlier cases of “Azerbaijan’s refraining from carrying out a joint military drill with the US titled “Regional Response” early this year and also preventing flight of NATO reconnaissance planes in its airspace as proofs of such an attitude. On the same grounds, it wrote, changes in pre-planned programs in military areas are foreseeable.
This is while General Elchin Gulyev as the commander of Azerbaijan’s border forces, talking to reporters a few days ago, referred to the quotes made from diplomats of the Azeri embassy in the US about Azeri government and officials which were revealed by WikiLeaks and then rejected as baseless by Azeri officials, saying that after raising such issues, no grounds for cooperation existed any longer.
He stressed that Republic of Azerbaijan, quite contrary to the US, had good ties with other countries including Turkey and the Caspian Sea littoral states and was after strengthening cooperation with them.
Such remarks by an Azeri border commander comes despite the fact that the section under his command was considered as having the highest potential for cooperation with America and really did have some sort of cooperation with it. They even say that the US had indeed offered aid to the Azeri coast guards.
Ildrim Mammadov as an expert with the military research center believes the situation emerging in the US-Azerbaijan ties after the disclosure of diplomatic documents and the double-faced behavior of the US officials, will not let military relations between the two countries remain unaffected.
He added that he believed, given the current situation, further proximity among Caspian Sea regional countries has created an atmosphere which makes presence of forces from overseas countries quite unnecessary.
Heads of the Caspian Sea littoral countries during their third summit last month in Baku, signed an agreement on security cooperation among these states to stress the need for non-militarization of the sea which in itself negates presence for ultra-regional forces in the Caspian sea.
The military expert further stressed that the American aid to Baku served symbolic purposes and stopped at the stage of offering samples of military technology and know-how.
Earlier, the Azeri president, in a statement, voiced his protest to the remarks and correspondence made by American diplomats in Baku which were made public by the WikiLeaks, declaring that all of this was an absolute nonsense which aimed at sabotaging ties between Azerbaijan and its neighbors.
In some of the leaked documents, remarks are attributed to the Azeri president and foreign minister in regards with Turkey and Iran which stand in contradiction with the country’s official policies.
Head of political department of Azerbaijan’s presidential office, Ali Hassanov, in an interview, believed certain countries were unhappy with Azerbaijan’s good relations with its neighbors, stressing that making these documents public took place in line with the same policies to weaken these ties.
The US embassy in Baku issued a statement last week to stress that – without accepting or rejecting these remarks- the reports by the American diplomats were only their own assessments of the different situations and that the US polices were not based on these reports.
The republic of Azerbaijan has a record of differences with the US on issues pertaining to Karabakh dispute.
Last year- and this year likewise- the Azeri officials protested the US measures to render financial help to the self-claimed government of Karabakh. Early this year, too, the invitation extended to the Armenian president by the US President Barack Obama while Azerbaijan did not receive a similar one, triggered tension in mutual relations.
The republic of Azerbaijan assessed the US measure as a gesture to support Armenia in the Karabakh dispute and said it expected the US, as one of the three members of the Minsk group which is duty bound to mediate solutions to the dispute, to remain impartial and then, unilaterally, cancelled a pre-planned joint military drill with the US.
The US, too, for its part, has not yet introduced a new ambassador to Baku after about 18 months since the departure of its previous chief diplomat and the affairs in the US embassy had been administered by temporary chiefs during the period.
It is said that the American officials, during meetings in Baku, were carrying messages on need of changes in the Azeri policies regarding their neighbors. This not only is a clear case of intervention in a country’s domestic policies but stands in strong contradiction with Azerbaijan’s national interests and policies of friendly ties with neighbors./end
