STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL DODGES BOXER QUESTION ON AZERI THREATS

epartment-official-dodges-boxer-question-on-azeri- threats/
Jun 10, 2009

Praises Azeri President for "Good Faith" Efforts

WASHINGTON-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 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 appeared before the panel, which was
chaired by Senator Boxer, on June 3rd, and submitted his written
responses to her questions earlier this week. 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 Advisor 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."

The full text of the Boxer-Shapiro written exchange is provided below.

Questions for the Record Submitted to Assistant Secretary – Designate
Andrew Shapiro by Senator Barbara Boxer (#1) Senate Foreign Relations
Committee June 3, 2009 Question: In October 1992, Congress enacted the
FREEDOM Support Act, which authorizes assistance to the independent
states of the former Soviet Union.

The Act included a restriction on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until
the President determines, that "the Government of Azerbaijan is taking
demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses
of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."

But the 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act included language
giving the President the authority to waive this restriction if he
determines and certifies to Congress that U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan
will, among other things, "not undermine ongoing efforts to negotiate
a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan."

Many of my constituents are concerned that this waiver continues
to be used despite the fact that the Government of Azerbaijani has
repeatedly suggested that violence should be used to resolve the
longstanding conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March 2008, Azerbaijani President Aliyev said that his country was
ready to take back Nagorno-Karabakh by force if necessary and that
"we have been buying military machinery, airplanes and ammunition to
be ready to liberate the occupied territories, and we are ready to
do this."

In June 2008 at a military parade, President Aliyev stated that
"we should be ready to liberate our territories by military force at
any moment."

And in an October 2008 speech, President Aliyev pledged to "follow
a policy of a total offensive" against neighboring Armenia in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

I find these statements extremely disconcerting, particularly as
President Obama’s budget calls for an increase from $18.5 million to
$22.1 million in U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.

Do you believe President Aliyev’s comments undermine efforts to
negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Are you concerned by Azerbaijan’s repeated calls to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by military means? What, if anything,
does this mean for continued U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan?

Answer:

Since November of 2008, there has been an unprecedented
diplomatic effort by the OSCE Minsk Group, of which the United
States is a co-chair, to advance a political settlement of the
conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has cooperated in good
faith with all of these efforts. In November 2008, President Aliyev
joined Armenian President Serzh Sargsian and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev in signing a declaration reaffirming their commitment to
a political settlement of the conflict – the first document signed
jointly by Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents since 1994. Since
then, President Aliyev has met personally with President Sargsian in
Switzerland on the margins of the World Economic Forum, in Prague at
the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, and in St. Petersburg.

We are committed to working with both sides on the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh to find a peaceful, just, and lasting settlement. Assistance
provided to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the interim will not undermine
ongoing efforts to negotiate a settlement between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, but will instead contribute to shared security interests
like peacekeeping operations, maritime security, and defense reform
and modernization.

Questions for the Record Submitted to Assistant Secretary – Designate
Andrew Shapiro by Senator Barbara Boxer (#2) Senate Foreign Relations
Committee June 3, 2009

Question:

In its FY 2010 budget request, the Administration requested $4 million
in Foreign Military Financing for Azerbaijan and only $3 million
for Armenia. It also requested $900,000 in International Military
Education and Training funding for Azerbaijan and $450,000 for Armenia.

This appears to break the longstanding congressional policy of
maintaining military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan. What
is the justification for these aid levels?

Answer:

Military assistance levels for both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
carefully considered to ensure they do not affect the region’s
military balance or undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Our assistance to 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. Military
assistance to Armenia does not have a naval component. The requested
military assistance levels for Azerbaijan recognize this fact.