AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION ENVOY: BY PUSHING TURKEY TO ABANDON AZERBAIJAN, U.S. RISKS ALIENATING ONE OF ITS MOST IMPORTANT AND RELIABLE PARTNERS IN REGION

Trend
April 21 2010
Azerbaijan

By pushing Turkey to abandon Azerbaijan, the United States risks
alienating one of its most important and reliable partners in a
critical region of the world, Novruz Mammadov, the Head of the Foreign
Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan,
told English version of Radio Liberty in his commentary on the current
situation in U.S.-Azerbaijan relations.

"Azerbaijan and Turkey are strategic allies with deep historical ties.

Turkey has played an important role in Azerbaijan’s partnership with
the West on key security and energy projects. Azerbaijan spearheaded
the opening of Caspian energy resources to the West and insisted that
major oil and gas pipelines be routed through Georgia and Turkey. Baku
has also wholeheartedly supported U.S. security initiatives by sending
troops to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan also provides
supply-transit support for the NATO effort in Afghanistan. Those who
know the region understand the significant risks Azerbaijan took and
the pressure it overcame in order to pursue close cooperation with
the West on energy and security issues," Mammadov said.

According to Mammadov, long-term peace and normalization of relations
in the South Caucasus cannot be achieved by rewarding aggression and
by excluding the region’s strategically most important country.

Mammadov said that Armenia’s closed borders are the main form
of leverage that might compel Yerevan to engage seriously in the
resolution of the conflict.

"Washington believes that a Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could
kill two birds with one stone. First, it might smooth over — at
least temporarily — one of the major trouble spots in U.S.-Turkish
relations: the issue of Armenian genocide claims. Second, some U.S.

officials argue that improving ties between Armenia and Turkey
will ultimately contribute to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. They appear to believe improved relations will lead to a
moderation of Armenian policies and open the way to new initiatives on
Karabakh. However, we must disagree. Armenia continues to occupy almost
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory. It
is ironic that while claiming to be the first victim of genocide in
the 20th century, Armenia itself carried out one of the century’s
major ethnic-cleansing campaigns in Europe — a campaign that
resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of nearly 1
million Azerbaijanis. There is no reason to believe that opening the
borders will make Armenia more willing to compromise; on the contrary,
removing this sole punishment will only increase Armenia’s interest
in further entrenching the status quo," Mammadov said.

According to representative of the Azerbaijani Presidential
Administration, many members of the Armenian political elite —
including President Serge Sarkisian — rose through the ranks because
of their personal involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. "They
have used the war as a pretext for strengthening their own hold over
Armenian politics, so it is not surprising that they have not been
constructive in settlement talks," said Mammadov.