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BAKU'S VAGABOND SHOES TAKE IT TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 26 2011
And if Baku can make it there, it can make it anywhere . . . that's
the tune Azerbaijani media are playing in an unabashed celebration of
the country's becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council this week.
Azerbaijan's debut on the council is "a victory for the Azerbaijani
people," declared Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. But
more than a symbolic victory, the membership placed Baku in a better
position to shape the international debate about its long-running
conflict with Armenia and separatists over breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ali Hasanov, a senior presidential administration official, indicated
that Baku will use its new position to bring Nagorno-Karabakh-related
issues to the UN floor. "Capitalizing on the [two]-year-long membership
of the UN Security Council, Azerbaijan will demand restoring norms
of international law," he said, without elaboration, Regnum reported.
Mammadyarov said that Baku will seek support for such initiatives
from the main international negotiators in the conflict -- the US,
France and Russia, all permanent members of the Security Council.
Some Azerbaijani politicians could not help but gloat at sour faces in
Armenia, Baku's arch-rival in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. "Armenia
is seriously upset," asserted independent parliament member Rasim
Musambekov.
It probably is, but the Armenians are trying not to show it. Yerevan
did not make an official statement about Azerbaijan's promotion, but
one official claimed that the Security Council would not be swayed by
Azerbaijan. The country's membership, he reasoned, will only damage
the council's reputation.
Note: Rasim Musambekov previously served as a board member of the
Open Society Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan, part of the Soros
Foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of
the Open Society Institute, a separate part of that network.
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org, NY
Oct 26 2011
And if Baku can make it there, it can make it anywhere . . . that's
the tune Azerbaijani media are playing in an unabashed celebration of
the country's becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council this week.
Azerbaijan's debut on the council is "a victory for the Azerbaijani
people," declared Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. But
more than a symbolic victory, the membership placed Baku in a better
position to shape the international debate about its long-running
conflict with Armenia and separatists over breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ali Hasanov, a senior presidential administration official, indicated
that Baku will use its new position to bring Nagorno-Karabakh-related
issues to the UN floor. "Capitalizing on the [two]-year-long membership
of the UN Security Council, Azerbaijan will demand restoring norms
of international law," he said, without elaboration, Regnum reported.
Mammadyarov said that Baku will seek support for such initiatives
from the main international negotiators in the conflict -- the US,
France and Russia, all permanent members of the Security Council.
Some Azerbaijani politicians could not help but gloat at sour faces in
Armenia, Baku's arch-rival in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. "Armenia
is seriously upset," asserted independent parliament member Rasim
Musambekov.
It probably is, but the Armenians are trying not to show it. Yerevan
did not make an official statement about Azerbaijan's promotion, but
one official claimed that the Security Council would not be swayed by
Azerbaijan. The country's membership, he reasoned, will only damage
the council's reputation.
Note: Rasim Musambekov previously served as a board member of the
Open Society Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan, part of the Soros
Foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of
the Open Society Institute, a separate part of that network.