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DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 24, 2013 Friday
BAKU AND MOSCOW DID NOT WISH TO REACH AN AGREEMENT
by Sokhbet Mamedov
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, May 21, 2013, p. 1
GABALA RADAR STATION IS CLOSED NOT ONLY DUE TO FINANCIAL REASONS;
Russia will give up the radar station in Azerbaijani Gabala.
Completion of activity of the Azerbaijani-Russian state commissions
created because of expiry of the time of rent of the Gabala radar
station in December of 2012 is planned in the near future. Head of the
Azerbaijani state commission, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Khalaf Khalafov, reported this. According to him, the entire necessary
organizational work is completed.
Khalafov adds, "It is necessary only to complete the process of
withdrawal of movable property of Russia from Azerbaijan. For this
purpose we have organized special flights of cargo airplanes that fly
directly to Gabala." Along with this, he emphasized that agreements
about all issues were achieved with the Russian party.
A source in the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan says that the process
of withdrawal of movable property of Russia from Gabala should be
fully completed by August of 2013.
The information analytical center was operated by the Russian party
only for information analysis purposes. The staff of the station did
not exceed 1,500 people. Its air defense was provided by the air
defense forces of Azerbaijan. Moscow paid $7 million per year for the
leased real estate and movable property.
A long time before expiry of the rent period the parties organized a
bilateral commission for the purpose of prolongation of the agreement
signed in January of 2002 in Moscow. Some issues remained the stepping
stone at these negotiations. The most important thing was that Baku
demanded rental rate a few hundreds of percents bigger than the
initial amount. As a result, the parties failed to reach an agreement
and the Gabala radar station stopped its operations since December 10
of 2012.
Various estimates of the reasons of stopping of rent of the Gabala
radar station sound now including the size of the rental rate are
voiced now. However, the expert community of Azerbaijan is not
inclined to think that the reason is so commonplace. According to
analyst Emin Abdullayev, "Time when tens or even hundreds of millions
of dollars have been considered some astronomic amount for Azerbaijan
is gone." So, in this case this is most likely a matter of principle.
Due to understandable reasons Baku could not look at the regime of
most favored partner granted by Moscow to Yerevan in military
cooperation indifferently.
Emin Abdullayev asks, "If Armenia can receive air defense missile
systems S-300 from Russia free of charge in exchange for free rent of
the territory under the 102nd base by Russia, which is a kind of
barter, why cannot Azerbaijan that has bought the same systems from
Russia for $300 million compensate for its expenses leasing its Gabala
radar station to Russia for the same price?"
In any case, this thought is not new. In a recent interview to
television channel Russia-24 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
pointed at two reasons that persuaded Baku to increase the rental rate
of the Gabala radar station.
The President said that to some extent this would be a compensation
for the past ten years because during that time "Azerbaijan never
raised the issue of revision of the price although everyone and I
think people in Russia too understood that the price was, to put this
mild, symbolic."
Aliyev remarked, "Simultaneously with this, the wish to increase the
rental rate was also substantiated by the fact that huge process began
in the military technological cooperation between Azerbaijan and
Russia in the last five to six years and these purchases were counted
in billions of dollars. We buy Russian military hardware at an
international price. We think that if we buy at an international price
and if we do all other payments at the international price the rental
rate should correspond or be very close to this."
[translated from Russian]
May 24, 2013 Friday
BAKU AND MOSCOW DID NOT WISH TO REACH AN AGREEMENT
by Sokhbet Mamedov
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, May 21, 2013, p. 1
GABALA RADAR STATION IS CLOSED NOT ONLY DUE TO FINANCIAL REASONS;
Russia will give up the radar station in Azerbaijani Gabala.
Completion of activity of the Azerbaijani-Russian state commissions
created because of expiry of the time of rent of the Gabala radar
station in December of 2012 is planned in the near future. Head of the
Azerbaijani state commission, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Khalaf Khalafov, reported this. According to him, the entire necessary
organizational work is completed.
Khalafov adds, "It is necessary only to complete the process of
withdrawal of movable property of Russia from Azerbaijan. For this
purpose we have organized special flights of cargo airplanes that fly
directly to Gabala." Along with this, he emphasized that agreements
about all issues were achieved with the Russian party.
A source in the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan says that the process
of withdrawal of movable property of Russia from Gabala should be
fully completed by August of 2013.
The information analytical center was operated by the Russian party
only for information analysis purposes. The staff of the station did
not exceed 1,500 people. Its air defense was provided by the air
defense forces of Azerbaijan. Moscow paid $7 million per year for the
leased real estate and movable property.
A long time before expiry of the rent period the parties organized a
bilateral commission for the purpose of prolongation of the agreement
signed in January of 2002 in Moscow. Some issues remained the stepping
stone at these negotiations. The most important thing was that Baku
demanded rental rate a few hundreds of percents bigger than the
initial amount. As a result, the parties failed to reach an agreement
and the Gabala radar station stopped its operations since December 10
of 2012.
Various estimates of the reasons of stopping of rent of the Gabala
radar station sound now including the size of the rental rate are
voiced now. However, the expert community of Azerbaijan is not
inclined to think that the reason is so commonplace. According to
analyst Emin Abdullayev, "Time when tens or even hundreds of millions
of dollars have been considered some astronomic amount for Azerbaijan
is gone." So, in this case this is most likely a matter of principle.
Due to understandable reasons Baku could not look at the regime of
most favored partner granted by Moscow to Yerevan in military
cooperation indifferently.
Emin Abdullayev asks, "If Armenia can receive air defense missile
systems S-300 from Russia free of charge in exchange for free rent of
the territory under the 102nd base by Russia, which is a kind of
barter, why cannot Azerbaijan that has bought the same systems from
Russia for $300 million compensate for its expenses leasing its Gabala
radar station to Russia for the same price?"
In any case, this thought is not new. In a recent interview to
television channel Russia-24 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
pointed at two reasons that persuaded Baku to increase the rental rate
of the Gabala radar station.
The President said that to some extent this would be a compensation
for the past ten years because during that time "Azerbaijan never
raised the issue of revision of the price although everyone and I
think people in Russia too understood that the price was, to put this
mild, symbolic."
Aliyev remarked, "Simultaneously with this, the wish to increase the
rental rate was also substantiated by the fact that huge process began
in the military technological cooperation between Azerbaijan and
Russia in the last five to six years and these purchases were counted
in billions of dollars. We buy Russian military hardware at an
international price. We think that if we buy at an international price
and if we do all other payments at the international price the rental
rate should correspond or be very close to this."
[translated from Russian]