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EurasiaNet: When it came to Eurovision Azerbaijan became extremely
courteous with Russia
17:28 25/05/2013 » SOCIETY
When it comes to differences with Russia over energy or arms
shipments, Azerbaijan rarely flinches or gives an inch. But when
discussion turns to the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, Europe's annual
sequin-studded pop-music extravaganza, Azerbaijan seems unusually
solicitous in its reaction to Russia, Shahin Abbasov writes in his
article published in U.S. organization EurasiaNet.
According to the article last week, there's been lots of wailing in
Moscow about the Eurovision results, which showed Azerbaijan gave no
points to the Russian contestant, Dina Garipova and no one has been
able to offer a convincing explanation as to why Russia's Eurovision
anger matters so much to Baku. Azerbaijani officials have appeared
eager to make amends: President Ilham Aliyev called for an
investigation, and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov released data
from all three of Azerbaijan's mobile operators to support Baku's
assertion that, yes, it had voted for Garipova.
Many Azerbaijanis, terming the investigation `ridiculous' and `silly,'
would agree.
`It is only a song contest. Baku should calmly ignore it, and the
uproar over Eurovision in Russia would soon disappear,' commented
political analyst Elhan Shahinoglu, head of the Baku-based think-tank
Atlas. `But the Azerbaijani government itself politicized the issue,
showing how afraid it is of Russian anger,' he added.
`It shows how far we are from the civilized world,' added Rauf
Mirgadirov, a political columnist for the Russian-language daily
Zerkalo (The Mirror). `Could you imagine such a conflict between
Denmark and Sweden, for example?' he asked.
The author writes that the Azerbaijani government has not demonstrated
similar sensitivity on matters of far greater economic and political
importance, such as the construction of oil and gas pipelines that
deliberately avoid Russia. Baku also has stood firm in lease
negotiations for the Gabala radar station. Yet to see Mammadyarov and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov now, some Azerbaijanis have
joked on Facebook, you would think they have nothing to discuss other
than the Eurovision vote.
`With a presidential election scheduled for October, and, with it, the
risk of unsanctioned street protests, Baku has good reason not to want
to vex the Kremlin. Members of Aliyev's administration may worry that
a Russia-based group of ethnic-Azeri billionaires could pose a
political threat to President Aliyev's reelection, and thus officials
are eager to keep Russia relatively happy,' noted Shahinoglu.
The author believes that or perhaps energy plays a role - Baku and
Moscow are discussing new terms for shipping Azerbaijani oil to Russia
via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, following Moscow's suspension of a
1996 agreement. `But why Eurovision would be the chosen tool for
smoothing those tensions away is a mystery,' Abbasov writes.
One analyst, who asked not to be named, speculated that President
Aliyev himself, or his wife, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who oversaw
arrangements for the 2012 Eurovision in Baku, may feel personally
embarrassed or upset by the Eurovision flap. This could explain Baku's
eagerness to curry favor with Moscow, given that government
decision-making in Azerbaijan is generally vertical, particularly in
an election year.
Amid the brouhaha with Russia, the Azerbaijani public generally has
ignored another brewing scandal -- an online Lithuanian news outlet's
report that Azerbaijan allegedly attempted to buy votes for
Eurovision.
Source: Panorama.am
From: Baghdasarian
courteous with Russia
17:28 25/05/2013 » SOCIETY
When it comes to differences with Russia over energy or arms
shipments, Azerbaijan rarely flinches or gives an inch. But when
discussion turns to the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, Europe's annual
sequin-studded pop-music extravaganza, Azerbaijan seems unusually
solicitous in its reaction to Russia, Shahin Abbasov writes in his
article published in U.S. organization EurasiaNet.
According to the article last week, there's been lots of wailing in
Moscow about the Eurovision results, which showed Azerbaijan gave no
points to the Russian contestant, Dina Garipova and no one has been
able to offer a convincing explanation as to why Russia's Eurovision
anger matters so much to Baku. Azerbaijani officials have appeared
eager to make amends: President Ilham Aliyev called for an
investigation, and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov released data
from all three of Azerbaijan's mobile operators to support Baku's
assertion that, yes, it had voted for Garipova.
Many Azerbaijanis, terming the investigation `ridiculous' and `silly,'
would agree.
`It is only a song contest. Baku should calmly ignore it, and the
uproar over Eurovision in Russia would soon disappear,' commented
political analyst Elhan Shahinoglu, head of the Baku-based think-tank
Atlas. `But the Azerbaijani government itself politicized the issue,
showing how afraid it is of Russian anger,' he added.
`It shows how far we are from the civilized world,' added Rauf
Mirgadirov, a political columnist for the Russian-language daily
Zerkalo (The Mirror). `Could you imagine such a conflict between
Denmark and Sweden, for example?' he asked.
The author writes that the Azerbaijani government has not demonstrated
similar sensitivity on matters of far greater economic and political
importance, such as the construction of oil and gas pipelines that
deliberately avoid Russia. Baku also has stood firm in lease
negotiations for the Gabala radar station. Yet to see Mammadyarov and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov now, some Azerbaijanis have
joked on Facebook, you would think they have nothing to discuss other
than the Eurovision vote.
`With a presidential election scheduled for October, and, with it, the
risk of unsanctioned street protests, Baku has good reason not to want
to vex the Kremlin. Members of Aliyev's administration may worry that
a Russia-based group of ethnic-Azeri billionaires could pose a
political threat to President Aliyev's reelection, and thus officials
are eager to keep Russia relatively happy,' noted Shahinoglu.
The author believes that or perhaps energy plays a role - Baku and
Moscow are discussing new terms for shipping Azerbaijani oil to Russia
via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, following Moscow's suspension of a
1996 agreement. `But why Eurovision would be the chosen tool for
smoothing those tensions away is a mystery,' Abbasov writes.
One analyst, who asked not to be named, speculated that President
Aliyev himself, or his wife, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who oversaw
arrangements for the 2012 Eurovision in Baku, may feel personally
embarrassed or upset by the Eurovision flap. This could explain Baku's
eagerness to curry favor with Moscow, given that government
decision-making in Azerbaijan is generally vertical, particularly in
an election year.
Amid the brouhaha with Russia, the Azerbaijani public generally has
ignored another brewing scandal -- an online Lithuanian news outlet's
report that Azerbaijan allegedly attempted to buy votes for
Eurovision.
Source: Panorama.am
From: Baghdasarian