AZERBAIJAN SEEMS TO HAVE FALLEN DOWN FAR ON THE LIST OF AMERICAN PRIORITIES: D. KRAMER
Panorama.am
17:02 11/05/2010
Politics
"Relations between Baku and Washington have deteriorated significantly
for several reasons, one of them being the lack of an American
ambassador even being nominated for almost a year," the former US
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
who currently serves as Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German
Marshall Fund in Washington DC David Kramer said in an interview to
Turan agency.
Among the several reasons Kramer also mentioned the decision to
not invite President Aliyev to the Nuclear Security Summit; the
U.S. focus on Armenia-Turkey reconciliation to the virtual exclusion of
consideration of Azerbaijan; the deteriorating human rights situation
inside Azerbaijan.
He said that Baku wants more respect from Washington, while Washington
wants to enhance its energy and security relationship with Azerbaijan.
"But Azerbaijan seems to have fallen down far on the list of American
priorities and that isn’t good for relations," Kramer noted.
Referring to Aliyev’s statements on reforms in the economic and
political fields of Azerbaijan, Kramer said: "I regret that Aliyev
has not taken active steps in advancing human rights and democratic
development in his country. Economic development in the absence of
political liberalization is a recipe for problems down the road."
When asked why West does not apply sanctions against Azerbaijani
officials, like they do against the ones from Belarus and Uzbekistan,
Kramer said: "The U.S. does indeed need to speak up more about the
problems in Azerbaijan."
Kramer said the government in Baku needs to understand that the
U.S.-Azerbaijan relationship cannot reach its fullest potential if
the political situation is in decline. "Before any consideration of
sanctions or other punitive measures, there needs to be more serious
and lasting engagement on human rights issues," he highlighted.