World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
May 28, 2010

Azerbaijan Declares Five Russian Legislators Unwelcome over
Controversial Monitoring Mission

BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement declaring five
members of Russia’s lower house of parliament aspersonae non gratae,
which means that they will not be welcome to come to Azerbaijan in a
diplomatic capacity. The harsh move comes after the Russian
legislators took part in the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan’s
breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh on 23 May as international
monitors (seeArmenia – Azerbaijan: 25 May 2010:). Ministry
spokesperson Elkhan Pulukhov has added that the decision could be
reversed if the Russian lawmakers admit that their participation in
the polls was deliberate malice. The affected people are Igor
Chernyshenko, Kirill Cherkasov, Tatyana Volozhinskaya, Maxim
Mishchenko, and Konstantin Zatulin. The latter expressed his surprise
with the Azerbaijani government’s decision as he has repeatedly
monitored both parliamentary and presidential elections in
Nagorno-Karabakh since its decision to break away from Azerbaijan back
in February 1988. However, this is the first time that such dramatic
measures have been employed against the Russian monitors.

Significance:The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s tough decision is an
unusual gesture addressed towards Russia, which together with France
and the United States is one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group
of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that
oversees the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the
status of the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. It comes as
Azerbaijan has been toughening its stance at the peace talks and
towards the mediators in recent months. Only last month Azerbaijani
authorities criticised the United States for being biased towards
Armenia. By slamming two out of the three mediators, Azerbaijan is
showing its growing frustration with the Minsk Group and also signals
that it has no intention of finding a more collaborative approach to
the conflict resolution other than full submission of the region to
Azerbaijan’s control, a stance that Azeri president Ilham Aliyev holds
now. The Foreign Ministry’s decision is not likely to induce any
positive change in already difficult peace talks.

From: A. Papazian