U.S. NOT SEEKING KARABAKH INDEPENDENCE – RUSSIAN EXPERT

RIA Novosti
18:3714/08/2009

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian analyst dismissed on
Friday as "exaggerated" speculation that Washington would support
independence for a disputed Azerbaijani region after appointing a
senior administration official skilled at conflict settlement.

Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet
republics since the late 1980s. The province has its own government
and is de facto independent.

"Some took it as a signal that the United States is likely to support
the independence of Nagorny Karabakh – I think this is an exaggerated
expectation," said Mikhail Alexandrov, chief expert on the Caucasus
at the Institute for CIS Studies, commenting on the replacement of
Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs.

Bryza, who also co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group, announced in Tbilisi
on Monday that U.S. diplomat Tina S. Kaidanow would replace him at
the post.

Kaidanow worked for the U.S. diplomatic mission in Kosovo for two
years before being appointed as the U.S. ambassador in Kosovo.

Alexandrov said it was a U.S. goal to have both Armenia and Azerbaijan
in NATO, which will mean finding a resolution to Nagorny Karabakh
first.

"They will impose a staged settlement plan which will include returning
the seven occupied territories, without determining the status, of
Nagorny Karabakh by deploying peacekeeping forces there, preferably
not Russian,…to smother Nagorny Karabakh and force it to submit,"
the Russian expert said.

He said it would be unnecessary for Washington to edge Russia out
of the disputed region to ensure that the area remained a part of
Azerbaijan.

"We took part in the Kosovo settlement, but who took us into account?

Nobody, and the United States wants a repetition of the scenario,
and Tina knows only too well how to do this," Alexandrov said.