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WikiLeaks: Ilham Aliyev Talks On Why He Didn't Support Georgia
Publicly in August 2008
WASHINGTON DC. September 12, 2011: The new WikiLeaks report sheds
light on Azerbaijan's position during the Russian invasion of Georgia.
The diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Baku to the US State
Department dated August 22, 2008 shows that the government of Ilham
Aliyev refrained from publicly supporting Georgia, but covertly
supported that country to ensure its survival against the Russian
attacks. The report quotes the president Aliyev telling the US
diplomats that he had a series of tough negotiations with the Russian
leadership in order to protect the BTC oil pipeline, and the areas of
Marneuli region of Georgia which was home to significant number of
ethnic Azeris. Below is the full text of the cable:
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 000790
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2009
TAGS: ENRG, ETRD, PREL, AJ, RU, TR
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: I DIDN'T STAND BEHIND SAAKASHVILI
BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE MADE NO DIFFERENCE
REF: ANKARA 1474
Classified By: Charge Donald Lu, for reasons 1.4 (b,d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 19, President Aliyev told visiting British
Petroleum CEO Inglis that Azerbaijan is taking quiet steps to support
Georgia, although Aliyev himself did not publicly support the Georgian
President. For example, Azerbaijanis are repairing a critical rail
bridge destroyed by the Russians. Aliyev reconfirmed his western
orientation for oil and gas exports, although he acknowledged that he
would sell some gas to Russia and oil to Iran. Aliyev stressed that
gas sales to Russia would be limited, maybe 2 bcm, and that the
purpose would be to pressure Turkey to conclude gas transit talks; oil
sales to Iran are a result of current pipeline constraints. Aliyev
said that during the crisis he phoned Moscow to warn them against
attacking Azeri interests in Georgia, including pipelines, the ethnic
Azeri community and the Azeri-owned oil terminal at Kulevi. END
SUMMARY.
2. (C) On August 20, British Petroleum's Chief Executive Officer for
Exploration and Production Andrew Inglis briefed the Charge on his
one-hour one-on-one meeting with President Ilham Aliyev on the evening
of August 19. Inglis was to meet Aliyev on August 20, but the
President asked to see Inglis early before the President's meeting
with visiting Turkish PM Erdogan. Inglis said that the President
appeared "relaxed, convivial and warm."
PRESIDENT'S REACTION TO GEORGIA CRISIS
3. (C) The President told Inglis, "I didn't rush to stand behind
Saakashvili because it would have made no difference." The President
quickly added that Azerbaijan is quietly finding ways to support
Georgia. He claimed that Azerbaijan is providing more aid than anyone
by using its people within the country (Comment: a possible reference
to ethnic Azeri Georgians) to do "real things." For example, he
reported that Azerbaijanis are repairing the destroyed rail bridge
link.
4. (C) Aliyev emphasized that the events of the past few days
"reinforce the journey (towards a western orientation) and not the
need for a U-turn." He said that he is not in favor of changing his
foreign policy in response to this conflict. His foreign policy has
been to develop Azerbaijan's independence from Russia using its oil
and gas resources. This engagement continues.
5. (C) The President did probe Inglis about the timing of the Georgia
invasion in relation to the PKK attack on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) pipeline. He did not explicitly endorse the following conspiracy
theory, but was interested in Inglis' reaction. Aliyev linked the
following events: -- The PKK, formerly sponsored by the KGB, attacks
the BTC. -- Three days later Russia invades Georgia. -- In a seemingly
random act, the Russians blows up a key railway bridge halting rail
export of oil. -- A stray bomb falls 10 meters from the Baku-Supsa oil
pipeline. -- Transneft reports a technical fault along the
Novorossiysk Line threatening one of the last remaining oil export
route.
PRESIDENT ALIYEV PHONES MOSCOW
6. (C) President Aliyev noted that when he learned that a stray
Russian bomb struck near the Baku-Supsa line, he rang Moscow (he
inferred that he called Putin but did not specify). He said that he
wanted to make clear that it would be considered a "major act" if
Russia took actions against Azerbaijan's interests. He specifically
complained about the bombing of a military airfield in the ethnic
Azeri community of Marneuli, the stray bomb near the Baku-Supsa
pipeline and reports of Russian troops entering the Azeri-owned oil
terminal at Kulevi. Aliyev said that in response, the troops withdrew
from Kulevi and there were no further bombings in these sensitive
areas.
GAS SALES TO RUSSIA A "SUBTERFUGE"
7. (C) Inglis explained that limited future gas sales to Russia are
for the purposes of enhancing Azerbaijan's position in the gas transit
talks with Turkey. He emphasized that Aliyev told him that Azerbaijan
still wants to sell Shah Deniz Phase Two gas west and not north. "It
would be madness to do otherwise. The events have not changed the
(political) rationale for exporting gas westward," the President
added.
8. (C) Inglis believes that Aliyev is in a much stronger position with
Turkey than a month ago. Inglis added that Turkey must agree to
transit rights and that Aliyev is not going to negotiate from a point
of weakness. Aliyev said that he would be selling some gas to Russia
and that "these sales to Russia must be credible." Inglis noted that,
for Russia, some is not enough. There is not enough gas to go around
and Russia wants it all. There's no compromise solution. The 2 bcm to
Russia is not significant. It is "subterfuge" for the price
negotiations, Inglis added.
9. (C) The President also told Inglis that as a result of the pipeline
closures, Azerbaijan will be forced to sell crude to Iran.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THE PKK ATTACK ON BTC
10. (C) Inglis confirmed reftel report that BP has evidence showing
that the fire at the block valve along BTC in Turkey was the result of
sabotage. "We are absolutely confident it was terrorism," he said. The
evidence are photos showing a dent in the 8 inch bypass pressure line
showing force from the outside as well as shrapnel holes. He passed
copies of these photos to President Aliyev to show Turkish PM Erdogan
in the event Erdogan denied that this was caused by terrorists.
11. (C) Inglis added that the block valves are the most vulnerable
points, while the 42 inch main line is buried and was not damaged. To
attack the main line would require a two meter trench, and something
to penetrate its thick alloy. There are ten most vulnerable block
valves in Turkey. BP has asked that the Turkish security forces "camp
out" at these valve stations, in addition to requesting that the
Turkish State Oil Company Botas eventually harden the facilities
around the valves. BP has raised this with the Ministry of Energy in
Turkey, but believes it needs to be raised with the Turkish Army as
well.
12. (C) In Turkey, block valves are housed in "little green corrugated
shacks," whereas in Azerbaijan and Georgia the block valves and
actuators are in concrete buildings with intrusion detectors. In
Borjomi, Georgia, BP has installed carbon fiber matting to defend the
main line against an RPG attack and fiber optic lines above the main
line to detect digging.
AZERI CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH BP
13. (C) Last year, the Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) was
threatening to have BP Azerbaijan's President arrested and tried for
theft of state resources. In contrast, Inglis described the mood about
BP in Azerbaijan as having come full circle. Aliyev made positive
comments to the press about BP and SOCAR being friends in difficult
times.
14. (C) The President told Inglis that Azerbaijan still needs BP. He
asked rhetorically, "If SOCAR owned BTC would it still be there?" The
President said he knows that he needs to keep BP motivated and
interested in Azerbaijan. There was good discussion about a Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA) extension and the extraction of
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) deep gas. Inglis believed the details will
still move at a certain pace, for tactical reasons, but that these
issues are headed in the right direction.
15. (C) The President summoned the SOCAR President after the evening
meeting with Inglis and made SOCAR available to Inglis the next day.
"(SOCAR President) Rovnag (Abdullayev) was the nicest Rovnaq we've
ever met." Inglis said that he had "real conversation" with Abdullayev
about the Shah Deniz Phase One gas price. Inglis advised SOCAR to
settle on a price now and not wait for a conclusion of transit talks
as the price of gas is rising every day.
COMMENT
16. (C) Inglis believes that Aliyev is looking for a statement from
the West (and particularly the U.S.) that parallels Aliyev's statement
to Moscow: If you mess with the pipelines, you're messing with us. He
noted that Aliyev was dismissive of high-level people turning up in
Baku for a photo-op with him and lacking a substantive message.
17. (C) On the sale of Azeri gas to Russia, Inglis clearly seemed to
be spinning this to try to head off expected U.S. objection to such a
sale. His analysis may yet be true about this sale being used to
pressure Turkey over transit talks, but it is also doubtless motivated
by BP's commercial interest in developing a market and routes to
justify Shah Deniz Phase Two and ACG deep gas production. Likewise,
Azerbaijan oil sales to Iran could be problematic, if continued over
the longer-term. LU
(Azerireport)
From: A. Papazian
Publicly in August 2008
WASHINGTON DC. September 12, 2011: The new WikiLeaks report sheds
light on Azerbaijan's position during the Russian invasion of Georgia.
The diplomatic cable from the US Embassy in Baku to the US State
Department dated August 22, 2008 shows that the government of Ilham
Aliyev refrained from publicly supporting Georgia, but covertly
supported that country to ensure its survival against the Russian
attacks. The report quotes the president Aliyev telling the US
diplomats that he had a series of tough negotiations with the Russian
leadership in order to protect the BTC oil pipeline, and the areas of
Marneuli region of Georgia which was home to significant number of
ethnic Azeris. Below is the full text of the cable:
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 000790
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2009
TAGS: ENRG, ETRD, PREL, AJ, RU, TR
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: I DIDN'T STAND BEHIND SAAKASHVILI
BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE MADE NO DIFFERENCE
REF: ANKARA 1474
Classified By: Charge Donald Lu, for reasons 1.4 (b,d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: On August 19, President Aliyev told visiting British
Petroleum CEO Inglis that Azerbaijan is taking quiet steps to support
Georgia, although Aliyev himself did not publicly support the Georgian
President. For example, Azerbaijanis are repairing a critical rail
bridge destroyed by the Russians. Aliyev reconfirmed his western
orientation for oil and gas exports, although he acknowledged that he
would sell some gas to Russia and oil to Iran. Aliyev stressed that
gas sales to Russia would be limited, maybe 2 bcm, and that the
purpose would be to pressure Turkey to conclude gas transit talks; oil
sales to Iran are a result of current pipeline constraints. Aliyev
said that during the crisis he phoned Moscow to warn them against
attacking Azeri interests in Georgia, including pipelines, the ethnic
Azeri community and the Azeri-owned oil terminal at Kulevi. END
SUMMARY.
2. (C) On August 20, British Petroleum's Chief Executive Officer for
Exploration and Production Andrew Inglis briefed the Charge on his
one-hour one-on-one meeting with President Ilham Aliyev on the evening
of August 19. Inglis was to meet Aliyev on August 20, but the
President asked to see Inglis early before the President's meeting
with visiting Turkish PM Erdogan. Inglis said that the President
appeared "relaxed, convivial and warm."
PRESIDENT'S REACTION TO GEORGIA CRISIS
3. (C) The President told Inglis, "I didn't rush to stand behind
Saakashvili because it would have made no difference." The President
quickly added that Azerbaijan is quietly finding ways to support
Georgia. He claimed that Azerbaijan is providing more aid than anyone
by using its people within the country (Comment: a possible reference
to ethnic Azeri Georgians) to do "real things." For example, he
reported that Azerbaijanis are repairing the destroyed rail bridge
link.
4. (C) Aliyev emphasized that the events of the past few days
"reinforce the journey (towards a western orientation) and not the
need for a U-turn." He said that he is not in favor of changing his
foreign policy in response to this conflict. His foreign policy has
been to develop Azerbaijan's independence from Russia using its oil
and gas resources. This engagement continues.
5. (C) The President did probe Inglis about the timing of the Georgia
invasion in relation to the PKK attack on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) pipeline. He did not explicitly endorse the following conspiracy
theory, but was interested in Inglis' reaction. Aliyev linked the
following events: -- The PKK, formerly sponsored by the KGB, attacks
the BTC. -- Three days later Russia invades Georgia. -- In a seemingly
random act, the Russians blows up a key railway bridge halting rail
export of oil. -- A stray bomb falls 10 meters from the Baku-Supsa oil
pipeline. -- Transneft reports a technical fault along the
Novorossiysk Line threatening one of the last remaining oil export
route.
PRESIDENT ALIYEV PHONES MOSCOW
6. (C) President Aliyev noted that when he learned that a stray
Russian bomb struck near the Baku-Supsa line, he rang Moscow (he
inferred that he called Putin but did not specify). He said that he
wanted to make clear that it would be considered a "major act" if
Russia took actions against Azerbaijan's interests. He specifically
complained about the bombing of a military airfield in the ethnic
Azeri community of Marneuli, the stray bomb near the Baku-Supsa
pipeline and reports of Russian troops entering the Azeri-owned oil
terminal at Kulevi. Aliyev said that in response, the troops withdrew
from Kulevi and there were no further bombings in these sensitive
areas.
GAS SALES TO RUSSIA A "SUBTERFUGE"
7. (C) Inglis explained that limited future gas sales to Russia are
for the purposes of enhancing Azerbaijan's position in the gas transit
talks with Turkey. He emphasized that Aliyev told him that Azerbaijan
still wants to sell Shah Deniz Phase Two gas west and not north. "It
would be madness to do otherwise. The events have not changed the
(political) rationale for exporting gas westward," the President
added.
8. (C) Inglis believes that Aliyev is in a much stronger position with
Turkey than a month ago. Inglis added that Turkey must agree to
transit rights and that Aliyev is not going to negotiate from a point
of weakness. Aliyev said that he would be selling some gas to Russia
and that "these sales to Russia must be credible." Inglis noted that,
for Russia, some is not enough. There is not enough gas to go around
and Russia wants it all. There's no compromise solution. The 2 bcm to
Russia is not significant. It is "subterfuge" for the price
negotiations, Inglis added.
9. (C) The President also told Inglis that as a result of the pipeline
closures, Azerbaijan will be forced to sell crude to Iran.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THE PKK ATTACK ON BTC
10. (C) Inglis confirmed reftel report that BP has evidence showing
that the fire at the block valve along BTC in Turkey was the result of
sabotage. "We are absolutely confident it was terrorism," he said. The
evidence are photos showing a dent in the 8 inch bypass pressure line
showing force from the outside as well as shrapnel holes. He passed
copies of these photos to President Aliyev to show Turkish PM Erdogan
in the event Erdogan denied that this was caused by terrorists.
11. (C) Inglis added that the block valves are the most vulnerable
points, while the 42 inch main line is buried and was not damaged. To
attack the main line would require a two meter trench, and something
to penetrate its thick alloy. There are ten most vulnerable block
valves in Turkey. BP has asked that the Turkish security forces "camp
out" at these valve stations, in addition to requesting that the
Turkish State Oil Company Botas eventually harden the facilities
around the valves. BP has raised this with the Ministry of Energy in
Turkey, but believes it needs to be raised with the Turkish Army as
well.
12. (C) In Turkey, block valves are housed in "little green corrugated
shacks," whereas in Azerbaijan and Georgia the block valves and
actuators are in concrete buildings with intrusion detectors. In
Borjomi, Georgia, BP has installed carbon fiber matting to defend the
main line against an RPG attack and fiber optic lines above the main
line to detect digging.
AZERI CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH BP
13. (C) Last year, the Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) was
threatening to have BP Azerbaijan's President arrested and tried for
theft of state resources. In contrast, Inglis described the mood about
BP in Azerbaijan as having come full circle. Aliyev made positive
comments to the press about BP and SOCAR being friends in difficult
times.
14. (C) The President told Inglis that Azerbaijan still needs BP. He
asked rhetorically, "If SOCAR owned BTC would it still be there?" The
President said he knows that he needs to keep BP motivated and
interested in Azerbaijan. There was good discussion about a Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA) extension and the extraction of
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) deep gas. Inglis believed the details will
still move at a certain pace, for tactical reasons, but that these
issues are headed in the right direction.
15. (C) The President summoned the SOCAR President after the evening
meeting with Inglis and made SOCAR available to Inglis the next day.
"(SOCAR President) Rovnag (Abdullayev) was the nicest Rovnaq we've
ever met." Inglis said that he had "real conversation" with Abdullayev
about the Shah Deniz Phase One gas price. Inglis advised SOCAR to
settle on a price now and not wait for a conclusion of transit talks
as the price of gas is rising every day.
COMMENT
16. (C) Inglis believes that Aliyev is looking for a statement from
the West (and particularly the U.S.) that parallels Aliyev's statement
to Moscow: If you mess with the pipelines, you're messing with us. He
noted that Aliyev was dismissive of high-level people turning up in
Baku for a photo-op with him and lacking a substantive message.
17. (C) On the sale of Azeri gas to Russia, Inglis clearly seemed to
be spinning this to try to head off expected U.S. objection to such a
sale. His analysis may yet be true about this sale being used to
pressure Turkey over transit talks, but it is also doubtless motivated
by BP's commercial interest in developing a market and routes to
justify Shah Deniz Phase Two and ACG deep gas production. Likewise,
Azerbaijan oil sales to Iran could be problematic, if continued over
the longer-term. LU
(Azerireport)
From: A. Papazian