INDIA DEFENDS UN VOTE ON AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA DISPUTE

The Asian Age
March 19 2008
India

New Delhi, 18 March: In a move reminiscent of its vote against Iran in
the International Atomic Energy Agency, India has quietly overturned
a decade-long policy of voting for, or abstaining from, any United
Nations resolution on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave located within the
internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. It has been the
subject of a fierce territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On 14 March, India joined Angola, Armenia, France, Russia, the
United States and Vanuatu in voting against the UN General Assembly
resolution in which Azerbaijan called for the immediate, complete and
unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces "from all the occupied
territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan". Thirty-nine countries voted
for the resolution, many of whom are members of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC). One hundred countries abstained.

The Azerbaijan government on Monday [17 March] summoned Mr M.M. Gayen
from the Indian embassy in Baku and lodged a protest over what it
called an "unfriendly" step. Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Xalaf
Xalafov told the Indian diplomat that the reasons that impelled India
to vote against the resolution were unclear to his country. Mr Xalafov
sought to suggest that a negative vote was all the more jarring because
India has consistently defended international norms and principles of
international law, including the principle of territorial integrity
of nation-states.

In New Delhi, Azeri ambassador Tamerlan Qarayev told this newspaper
that India’s vote was "unexpected" because previously India was either
supporting or abstaining during voting in the UN.

"This time we requested India to support us. We expected India to
support the resolution or remain neutral," he said.

"When our relations with India are developing positively, this step
of India is unexpected and regrettable," Dr Qarayev said.

"Doesn’t India recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan? Or is
India, with hundreds of ethnic minorities in its territory, intending
to justify separatism? That is not clear to us," he wondered.

The Ministry of External Affairs demurred, saying that India’s vote
was "consistent with the policies of the government of India".

A scrutiny of India’s voting pattern tells a different story. India
voted for the resolutions or amendments to the resolution on four
occasions in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Since 2000, India abstained
on at least four occasions, most recently in 2005.

This is the first time India has voted against a resolution along
with the Minsk Group countries – the US, Russia and France.

Incidentally, even the United Kingdom and Japan, who are among the
staunchest allies of the US, abstained, along with China, Germany
and others.

The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh. France, Russia and the US are the co-chairs of this
group. It has 10 other countries as members.

This turbulence in Indo-Azeri ties comes ahead of likely visits to
Baku by Union [Federal] Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar
Ravi and Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed. From the
Azeri side, the Speaker of the Azeri parliament and the ministers of
foreign affairs, economic development and information technology are
likely to visit India.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress