U.S. DEEPLY CONCERNED BY BELLICOSE STATEMENTS MADE BY SENIOR AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.06.2008 16:01 GMT+04:00

By no means is Turkey Armenia’s only problem in the region, according
to the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee.

"I’m deeply concerned by the series of increasingly bellicose
statements made over the past year about Nagorno Karabakh by senior
Azerbaijani officials, as well as the steady increase in Azerbaijan’s
defense budget as that nation acquires more oil wealth. The serious
breakdown earlier this year in the 14-year-old cease-fire has been
widely blamed on Azerbaijani provocations," Congressman Howard Berman
said in his remarks during the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s
"The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders" hearing.

Turning to Georgia, Mr Berman said, "In recent weeks, we’ve seen
increasingly aggressive Russian behavior toward the region of Abkhazia:
Moscow has established official ties with the separatist government
there, issued passports and citizenship to its residents, dispatched
a Russian jet to down a Georgian reconnaissance craft, and deployed
railway troops to the region under dubious pretenses."

He also addressed an issue with long-term implications for U.S. foreign
policy throughout the region: the prospect of democratization and
political development in the South Caucasus. "Lately in the wake of
elections in the region, there has been a worrying trend of large-scale
protests and forceful police reaction. This explosive combination
has the effect of silencing the opposition and strengthening ruling
political regimes in a region that is still struggling to establish
its democratic credentials," he said.

"Last fall, the Georgian government imposed a sweeping state of
emergency following demonstrations by thousands of protesters over
a government that appeared out of touch with the people. Armenia
experienced violent clashes that left eight people dead following
March presidential elections. And Azerbaijan could suffer a similar
fate during its presidential elections in October, as the government
is already cracking down on the media and opposition," Congressman
Berman said.