TAMARA GRIGORYEVA: NEIGHBORS GET THE MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW
By Tamara Grigoryeva
The Olympian
Aug 21 2008
WA
Links Comments "Our home looks like a dormitory now, because so
many relatives have arrived," said Azerbaijani Parvana Mamedova,
23, as she helped take care of a stream of refugees from Georgia’s
Marneuli region. "We don’t have enough space in our three rooms, but
it’s our duty to receive them." Since the fighting began on Aug. 8,
thousands of Azeris who live in Georgia have fled to their homeland
seeking safety with relatives.
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html (weblink) Azerbaijan
has close political ties with both Georgia and Russia. So far,
the government has tried to steer clear of the ongoing dispute, with
Khazar Ibrahim, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, saying only that
"Azerbaijan recognizes Georgia’s territorial integrity and believes
that the conflict must be settled within (the) framework … of
international law." President Ilham Aliev has remained at the Olympic
Games in Beijing throughout the crisis and made no public comment.
Neighboring Armenia has tried to keep a low profile in the crisis. All
statements on the crisis were made by Armenia’s deputy foreign
minister. "Armenia is very concerned about the situation in South
Ossetia and expresses hopes that the parties will make efforts to
settle the issues under dispute peacefully as soon as possible,"
said a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry.
And like his Azeri counterpart, President Serzh Sarkisian remained
in Beijing to observe the Games rather than rush back to monitor the
crisis in a neighboring country.
And the presidents of both countries flatly rejected Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili call that they join him in withdrawing from the
Commonwealth of Independent States.
Analysts say it’s understandable why both presidents have been
reluctant to speak out against Russian intervention, as leaders from
other former Soviet satellites have done in recent weeks.
"I think that this position can be explained by the president of
Azerbaijan’s commitment to good relations with the leadership of
Russia, and his wish to preserve stability in the country on the eve
of the forthcoming presidential elections," analyst Ilgar Mamedov said.