Zerkalo, Baku,
10 Nov 2006 pp 1, 2

AZERI DAILY PAINTS GRIM PICTURE OF US TIES AFTER DEMOCRATIC WIN

The victory of Democrats in the mid-term election to the US Congress
will mark "tough times" in the relationship between Baku and
Washington, Azerbaijani daily Zerkalo has said.

Zerkalo said that the possibility of pro-Armenian lawmakers taking
over the leadership in the Congress could lead to a worsening of
relations in the future.

"The pro-Armenian group will take the leading posts in the Congress,
including the posts of committee heads," the paper said. "The
criticism of the US administration’s support for undemocratic
governments that violate human rights has been a favourite
hobby-horse for the Democrats. The Armenian lobby of the Congress
will naturally use this factor against Azerbaijan. In view of this,
the White House will be forced to make changes to its policy
vis-a-vis Azerbaijan."

Now that the White House will have to negotiate its foreign policy
with the Democratic majority in the Congress, the US administration
might make "sacrifices" on minor issues, like relations with
Azerbaijan, in order to reach consensus on more important problems,
Zerkalo said.

The paper noted that it was no coincidence that the first visitor
from Washington after the election would be Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Barry Lowenkron.

"He is likely to tell the Baku government that in the next two years
it will be difficult for the White House to turn a blind eye to
Azerbaijan’s problems in the relevant fields," Zerkalo said.

Finally, Azerbaijan has failed to live up to the US administration’s
expectations and achieve a breakthrough in the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict settlement in 2006, the paper concluded.

In the meantime, opposition Azadliq newspaper has said that the
weakening of the Republicans’ position can come as a "nasty surprise"
to the Ilham Aliyev government. The oil and economic lobbies of the
Republicans will be no longer able to support the Aliyev
administration as strongly as before, Azadliq said.