AZERI POLITICAL ANALYSTS REACT TO NATO DECISION TO CANCEL PfP EXERCISES
ArmenPress
Sept 14 2004
BAKU, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijani political experts reacted
swiftly to the decision of NATO’s Supreme Command to cancel the
exercises, dubbed Cooperative Best Effort 2004 that were scheduled
to start today in Azerbaijan as part of Partnership for Peace program
(PfP) after the official Baku refused entry visas to Armenian officers
to travel to Azerbaijan’s capital.
Last Friday, the Azeri parliament sent a message to NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer protesting the inclusion of Armenian
soldiers and warning it could inflame tensions in the region and harm
relations between Azerbaijan and the Atlantic alliance. President
Ilham Aliyev also reportedly opposed the inclusion of the soldiers.
An ex-foreign minister Tofik Zulfugarov argued that NATO’s decision
was “biased” and was taken without taking into account the existing
realities of the region. “Though the decision is an unpleasant event
for Azerbaijan it has prompted decision-makers to once again think
about specific conditions of the region … Azerbaijan is the victim
of Armenia’s aggression and this fact should not be ignored by those
organizations, which are trying to create an illusion that there is
no occupation and no refugees” he was quoted by Turan news agency
as saying.
According to another political analyst, Zardusht Alizade, all the
clamor around the exercises has in fact no relation to patriotism and
struggle for liberation of Karabagh and furthermore, it will sustain
huge damages to Azerbaijan. He said that the arrival of Armenian
officers would have no impact on the Karabagh problem. “Azeris should
not have raised all this noise, it was a stupid and absolutely
non-constructive position.” He said that Azerbaijan has lost all
opportunities to express its positions internationally, implicating
also that the country’s leadership is trying to please Russia to
prove its ability to keep the conflict frozen.
Eldar Namazov, another political analysts, said the refusal of
Azerbaijan to accept Armenian officers was regretful, adding that
its aftereffects will eventually affect Azerbaijan’s image.
According to an independent military observer, Uzeir Jafarov, the
first such incident in the history of PfP exercises is evidence that
NATO will revise Azerbaijan’s participation in its programs.
But according to political analyst Vafa Quluzada, the cancellation
of the exercises will not affect Azerbaijani-NATO relations.
“Azerbaijan and Armenia are at war and this is obvious to NATO that
failed to realize that the Azerbaijani people would not be indifferent
to this,” he said, adding that NATO will respect Azerbaijan even more
and understand that the two countries should not be kept in a state of
war. “NATO enjoys big powers and can play an important role in putting
an end to this aggression against Azerbaijan immediately,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress