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AZERIS SEEK RUSSIAN "INTEREST" IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IN RETURN FOR RADAR LEASE
Ekho
Aug 3 2012
Azerbaijan
In return for Moscow's lease of the Qabala radar station, Baku wants
Russia to show an "interest" in the resolution of the long-standing
territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an Azerbaijani
MP has said.
Russia has been leasing the Azerbaijani radar station since 2002. The
lease contract expires in December 2012 but Moscow seeks to extend it
until 2025. It is currently paying 7m dollars in rent annually but
Baku seeks 300m dollars a year from 1 January 2013, media reports
have said. In the meantime, Russia has said it considers the new
terms and conditions offered by Baku to be "absolutely unacceptable"
while Azerbaijan has expressed hope that talks on the lease will be
completed by the end of 2012.
The radar station supports early warning of possible missile attacks
from a southern direction (Iran being the chief object of attention),
Russian Rossiyskaya Gazeta website said earlier.
In February, Azerbaijan said it had arrested members of Iran's Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps and Hezbollah who had planned to carry out
terrorist attacks on a number of facilities in Azerbaijan, including
the Qabala radar station.
Baku seeks Moscow's attention to Karabakh problem
MP Aydin Mirzazada of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party said, as quoted
by Ekho daily: "In the issue of the lease by Russia of Azerbaijan's
Qabala radar station, we should not be only talking about the technical
and financial aspects. While leasing a military facility to a foreign
state - in this particular case, to Russia - Baku wants Moscow to
show an interest in momentous matters related to Azerbaijan."
Many believe in Azerbaijan that the key to the settlement of the
Karabakh problem lies in Moscow, a strategic ally of Yerevan.
Mirzazada also believes that the "occupation of Azerbaijani lands by a
close ally of Russia - Armenia, and Armenia's reluctance to recognize
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must not remain outside the
focus of Russia", Ekho said.
Qabala issue to be resolved soon
In the meantime, Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Cafarov believes
that the Qabala radar issue will soon be resolved. "The matter is that
time is pressing and the sides have soon to sign an agreement," the
expert told Azerbaijani independent Zerkalo newspaper on 1 August. The
expert believes the Azerbaijani and Russian presidents will have the
final say on the issue and will clarify the matter at their first
convenience. The expert is confident that Russia will not give up on
this just like that, the paper said.
Another military expert, Yasar Cafarli, commented that Azerbaijan
is an independent state and should adhere to its own principles on
the matter. He believes it is wrong for a country to keep another
state's military facility for 49 years. "It is impossible to agree
to this. My well-grounded answer on the matter is five years," Baki
Xabar quoted him as saying.
[translated]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Ekho
Aug 3 2012
Azerbaijan
In return for Moscow's lease of the Qabala radar station, Baku wants
Russia to show an "interest" in the resolution of the long-standing
territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an Azerbaijani
MP has said.
Russia has been leasing the Azerbaijani radar station since 2002. The
lease contract expires in December 2012 but Moscow seeks to extend it
until 2025. It is currently paying 7m dollars in rent annually but
Baku seeks 300m dollars a year from 1 January 2013, media reports
have said. In the meantime, Russia has said it considers the new
terms and conditions offered by Baku to be "absolutely unacceptable"
while Azerbaijan has expressed hope that talks on the lease will be
completed by the end of 2012.
The radar station supports early warning of possible missile attacks
from a southern direction (Iran being the chief object of attention),
Russian Rossiyskaya Gazeta website said earlier.
In February, Azerbaijan said it had arrested members of Iran's Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps and Hezbollah who had planned to carry out
terrorist attacks on a number of facilities in Azerbaijan, including
the Qabala radar station.
Baku seeks Moscow's attention to Karabakh problem
MP Aydin Mirzazada of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party said, as quoted
by Ekho daily: "In the issue of the lease by Russia of Azerbaijan's
Qabala radar station, we should not be only talking about the technical
and financial aspects. While leasing a military facility to a foreign
state - in this particular case, to Russia - Baku wants Moscow to
show an interest in momentous matters related to Azerbaijan."
Many believe in Azerbaijan that the key to the settlement of the
Karabakh problem lies in Moscow, a strategic ally of Yerevan.
Mirzazada also believes that the "occupation of Azerbaijani lands by a
close ally of Russia - Armenia, and Armenia's reluctance to recognize
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must not remain outside the
focus of Russia", Ekho said.
Qabala issue to be resolved soon
In the meantime, Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Cafarov believes
that the Qabala radar issue will soon be resolved. "The matter is that
time is pressing and the sides have soon to sign an agreement," the
expert told Azerbaijani independent Zerkalo newspaper on 1 August. The
expert believes the Azerbaijani and Russian presidents will have the
final say on the issue and will clarify the matter at their first
convenience. The expert is confident that Russia will not give up on
this just like that, the paper said.
Another military expert, Yasar Cafarli, commented that Azerbaijan
is an independent state and should adhere to its own principles on
the matter. He believes it is wrong for a country to keep another
state's military facility for 49 years. "It is impossible to agree
to this. My well-grounded answer on the matter is five years," Baki
Xabar quoted him as saying.
[translated]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress