STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL DODGES BOXER QUESTION ON AZERBAIJANI THREATS

armradio.am
11.06.2009 11:33

A senior State Department nominee, under questioning from Senator
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) as part of his Senate confirmation process,
avoided her direct question about Azerbaijan’s pattern of military
threats against Nagorno Karabakh, choosing instead to respond by
praising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for cooperating in "good
faith" with the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).

"Remaining silent on Azerbaijan’s war threats – particularly when
these warnings of war are raised in such a direct, well-documented,
and public manner before the United States Senate – only emboldens
leaders in Baku to continue down the path to renewed aggression,"
said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. "The unwillingness
of our State Department to publicly confront these open threats is
inconsistent with our role as an honest broker in the Nagorno Karabakh
peace process, and, ultimately, undermines the prospects for a durable
settlement of this conflict."

The nominee, Andrew Shapiro, has been nominated by President Obama to
serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military affairs
at the State Department. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor to
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Prior to this position, he served
for eight years as the Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Advi sor
for then-Senator Clinton.

Senator Boxer also asked Shapiro about the Administration’s proposal to
break the longstanding Congressional policy of maintaining military aid
parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Shapiro responded by justifying
this recommendation that the Congress enact an unprecedented tilt in
military aid toward Baku by noting that, unlike Armenia, "Azerbaijan
has a large naval and maritime security component in order to help
secure energy transit routes, and to counter proliferation and drug
trafficking on the Caspian Sea."