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TOP OFFICIAL CALLS ON U.S. TO `BE MORE ACTIVE` ON KARABAKH
Azer News Weekly
October 24, 2012 Wednesday
Azerbaijan
by : Nigar Orujova
An international conference on the role of U.S.-Azerbaijan cooperation
in ensuring peace and security in the region was held in Baku last
Friday, with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict high on the agenda of
discussions.
Azerbaijani and US officials shared their views on ways of settling
Azerbaijan`s long-standing conflict with Armenia and obstacles that
stand in the way of its resolution. The Karabakh conflict emerged in
1988 when Armenia leveled territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
a brutal war in the early 1990s that left around 30,000 people dead
and ousted up to one million Azerbaijanis from their homes, Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of the neighboring country`s
territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.
A fragile cease-fire was signed in 1994. Russia, France and the U.S.,
which co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, are brokering peace talks. The
negotiations have been largely fruitless so far. Azerbaijani
Presidential Administration department head Elnur Aslanov told
journalists that Azerbaijan expects the United States to be more
active in the peace process.
"Lately inactivity has been observed in the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Aslanov said. "The U.S. is a co-chair of
the Minsk Group and it should play a more active role in the conflict
resolution along with other leading states."
Aslanov told the conference that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
during her recent visit to Baku said that the bonds between the United
States and Azerbaijan are deep, important and durable. "The U.S.
officials, who visited our country in past years, often say that the
United States has three main interests in Azerbaijan: cooperation on
energy projects, security issues and political and economic reforms,"
Aslanov said. "Indeed, these are important issues and our countries
have achieved a lot in these areas.
Without firm support from our American friends, regional energy
projects would not have been possible. Without Azerbaijan`s support,
the U.S.-led fight against global terrorism and radicalism would not
be the same. However, we need to see a more active role of the United
States in the resolution of the long-standing conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan."
Aslanov said Azerbaijan wants to see the U.S. pursue its interests
in the region without "being hostage to ethnic politics". "We insist
that the United States call things by its own name, when it comes
to aggression and occupation. Only commitment to its true values and
principles, based on which the United States was founded, will bring
the U.S. a durable, firm and successful foothold in the Caucasus,"
he added.
According to Aslanov, the U.S. has strong economic and strategic
interests in Azerbaijan because of its energy resources and geographic
location. A potential American partnership with Azerbaijan meets
Washington`s strategic needs to consolidate its presence in the
Caucasus and Caspian Sea region, he said.
"While unique location makes Azerbaijan a center of geopolitical,
geo-strategic and geo-economic importance, one of the largest
embassies U.S. has today, after its embassy in Baghdad, is located
in Yerevan. While U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) is the first and only
grassroots advocacy and political education project uniting all
Azerbaijani-American voters, Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act
does not reflect the current stage of the relationship and causes
obstacles to a broader strategic relationship," Aslanov said.
Section 907 bans any kind of direct US aid to the Azerbaijani
government. Aslanov said unresolved conflicts represent a long-term
challenge to the efforts to promote security and stability in the
whole Euro-Atlantic area.
"Despite ongoing political efforts towards the earliest resolution of
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, activities in the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan are in gross violation of international law and serve to
further strengthen the status-quo of occupation, secure the results of
ethnic cleansing and artificially change demographics in the invaded
territories, as well as to seriously obstruct a peaceful resolution
of the conflict," Aslanov said.
US deputy ambassador Adam Sterling said that the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict remains the biggest obstacle to the development and long-term
stability of the region. "There are no easy answers to the issue,
it is a complicated problem," Sterling told the Baku conference.
Sterling said that as a Minsk Group co-chair, the U.S. continues
working to establish the conditions and confidence necessary for
Azerbaijan and Armenia to make tangible progress in achieving a just
and peaceful solution of the conflict.
"The US position on the conflict remains unchanged," Sterling added.
"The U.S. is committed to a negotiated settlement of the conflict as
the only viable solution for the region`s well-being."
Sterling also spoke about security dialogue between Azerbaijan and
the U.S. "We have regular engagements of the militaries, we are
strengthening the ability of our armed forces to train and work
together in multilateral settings, most notably in NATO`s ISAF
[International Security Assistance Force] in Afghanistan," Sterling
said.
He said these activities have strengthened the U.S.-Azerbaijan
partnership. "As I said, one of the main challenges that we have
worked on together over the past decade is Afghanistan. Of course,
our forces serve together in Afghanistan. But beyond the service
of our troops together, Azerbaijan is also providing a key transit
corridor for NATO for [cargo] transit to Afghanistan," Sterling said.
Azerbaijan has sent peacekeepers for ISAF in Afghanistan. In the past,
the country also strongly supported the operations in Kosovo. Farhad
Mammadov, Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the
Azerbaijani President, believes the U.S. cannot be closely involved
in a fair resolution of the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
due to the influence of the Armenian lobby.
"Over 20 years, the US policy in the region has been instrumental
in strengthening the independence of Azerbaijan and Georgia and in
the regional security process. However, due to the influence of the
Armenian lobby, the U.S. cannot take an active part in an objective
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict --
the biggest threat to security in the South Caucasus," Mammadov noted.
Addressing the conference, Mammadov said the situation in the region
is volatile and it is impossible to create favorable conditions for
a secure future without influence and even pressure from the outside.
"In our view, the U.S. is not active in this area. Statements that
the resolution of the conflict depends on the free will of the parties
are irresponsible to say the least. What will can we talk about when
the aggressor state, Armenia, is putting forward unreasonable demands
and trying to maintain the status quo by all means?" Mammadov queried.
The U.S., as the most powerful country in the world, can and should
play a responsible role in the Karabakh settlement process, he says.
Mammadov said "the beginning of a peace process advocated by
Azerbaijan" will draw a new picture in the region.
"After the liberation of the occupied territories, the
Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish borders will be opened,
and Armenia will be able to enjoy open borders, which promises a
short-term 20% economic growth spurt," he said.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs Eric Rubin said during his visit to Armenia last week that
the U.S. supports all the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairs and
wants the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
resume its natural course.
"Today, for both sides it is important more than ever to continue
diplomatic talks, to be ready to proceed with the negotiation process
on the conflict settlement," Rubin said.
Azer News Weekly
October 24, 2012 Wednesday
Azerbaijan
by : Nigar Orujova
An international conference on the role of U.S.-Azerbaijan cooperation
in ensuring peace and security in the region was held in Baku last
Friday, with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict high on the agenda of
discussions.
Azerbaijani and US officials shared their views on ways of settling
Azerbaijan`s long-standing conflict with Armenia and obstacles that
stand in the way of its resolution. The Karabakh conflict emerged in
1988 when Armenia leveled territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
a brutal war in the early 1990s that left around 30,000 people dead
and ousted up to one million Azerbaijanis from their homes, Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of the neighboring country`s
territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.
A fragile cease-fire was signed in 1994. Russia, France and the U.S.,
which co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, are brokering peace talks. The
negotiations have been largely fruitless so far. Azerbaijani
Presidential Administration department head Elnur Aslanov told
journalists that Azerbaijan expects the United States to be more
active in the peace process.
"Lately inactivity has been observed in the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Aslanov said. "The U.S. is a co-chair of
the Minsk Group and it should play a more active role in the conflict
resolution along with other leading states."
Aslanov told the conference that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
during her recent visit to Baku said that the bonds between the United
States and Azerbaijan are deep, important and durable. "The U.S.
officials, who visited our country in past years, often say that the
United States has three main interests in Azerbaijan: cooperation on
energy projects, security issues and political and economic reforms,"
Aslanov said. "Indeed, these are important issues and our countries
have achieved a lot in these areas.
Without firm support from our American friends, regional energy
projects would not have been possible. Without Azerbaijan`s support,
the U.S.-led fight against global terrorism and radicalism would not
be the same. However, we need to see a more active role of the United
States in the resolution of the long-standing conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan."
Aslanov said Azerbaijan wants to see the U.S. pursue its interests
in the region without "being hostage to ethnic politics". "We insist
that the United States call things by its own name, when it comes
to aggression and occupation. Only commitment to its true values and
principles, based on which the United States was founded, will bring
the U.S. a durable, firm and successful foothold in the Caucasus,"
he added.
According to Aslanov, the U.S. has strong economic and strategic
interests in Azerbaijan because of its energy resources and geographic
location. A potential American partnership with Azerbaijan meets
Washington`s strategic needs to consolidate its presence in the
Caucasus and Caspian Sea region, he said.
"While unique location makes Azerbaijan a center of geopolitical,
geo-strategic and geo-economic importance, one of the largest
embassies U.S. has today, after its embassy in Baghdad, is located
in Yerevan. While U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) is the first and only
grassroots advocacy and political education project uniting all
Azerbaijani-American voters, Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act
does not reflect the current stage of the relationship and causes
obstacles to a broader strategic relationship," Aslanov said.
Section 907 bans any kind of direct US aid to the Azerbaijani
government. Aslanov said unresolved conflicts represent a long-term
challenge to the efforts to promote security and stability in the
whole Euro-Atlantic area.
"Despite ongoing political efforts towards the earliest resolution of
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, activities in the occupied territories
of Azerbaijan are in gross violation of international law and serve to
further strengthen the status-quo of occupation, secure the results of
ethnic cleansing and artificially change demographics in the invaded
territories, as well as to seriously obstruct a peaceful resolution
of the conflict," Aslanov said.
US deputy ambassador Adam Sterling said that the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict remains the biggest obstacle to the development and long-term
stability of the region. "There are no easy answers to the issue,
it is a complicated problem," Sterling told the Baku conference.
Sterling said that as a Minsk Group co-chair, the U.S. continues
working to establish the conditions and confidence necessary for
Azerbaijan and Armenia to make tangible progress in achieving a just
and peaceful solution of the conflict.
"The US position on the conflict remains unchanged," Sterling added.
"The U.S. is committed to a negotiated settlement of the conflict as
the only viable solution for the region`s well-being."
Sterling also spoke about security dialogue between Azerbaijan and
the U.S. "We have regular engagements of the militaries, we are
strengthening the ability of our armed forces to train and work
together in multilateral settings, most notably in NATO`s ISAF
[International Security Assistance Force] in Afghanistan," Sterling
said.
He said these activities have strengthened the U.S.-Azerbaijan
partnership. "As I said, one of the main challenges that we have
worked on together over the past decade is Afghanistan. Of course,
our forces serve together in Afghanistan. But beyond the service
of our troops together, Azerbaijan is also providing a key transit
corridor for NATO for [cargo] transit to Afghanistan," Sterling said.
Azerbaijan has sent peacekeepers for ISAF in Afghanistan. In the past,
the country also strongly supported the operations in Kosovo. Farhad
Mammadov, Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the
Azerbaijani President, believes the U.S. cannot be closely involved
in a fair resolution of the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
due to the influence of the Armenian lobby.
"Over 20 years, the US policy in the region has been instrumental
in strengthening the independence of Azerbaijan and Georgia and in
the regional security process. However, due to the influence of the
Armenian lobby, the U.S. cannot take an active part in an objective
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict --
the biggest threat to security in the South Caucasus," Mammadov noted.
Addressing the conference, Mammadov said the situation in the region
is volatile and it is impossible to create favorable conditions for
a secure future without influence and even pressure from the outside.
"In our view, the U.S. is not active in this area. Statements that
the resolution of the conflict depends on the free will of the parties
are irresponsible to say the least. What will can we talk about when
the aggressor state, Armenia, is putting forward unreasonable demands
and trying to maintain the status quo by all means?" Mammadov queried.
The U.S., as the most powerful country in the world, can and should
play a responsible role in the Karabakh settlement process, he says.
Mammadov said "the beginning of a peace process advocated by
Azerbaijan" will draw a new picture in the region.
"After the liberation of the occupied territories, the
Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish borders will be opened,
and Armenia will be able to enjoy open borders, which promises a
short-term 20% economic growth spurt," he said.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs Eric Rubin said during his visit to Armenia last week that
the U.S. supports all the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairs and
wants the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
resume its natural course.
"Today, for both sides it is important more than ever to continue
diplomatic talks, to be ready to proceed with the negotiation process
on the conflict settlement," Rubin said.