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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
NEWS BRIEFS
AZERBAIJAN: BAKU HINTS AT RETALIATORY STEPS, IF TURKEY AND ARMENIA MEND TIES
4/07/09
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After US President Barack Obama’s call for a normalization of ties
between Turkey and Armenia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
asserted that any reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border could
prompt Azerbaijan to change its "regional policy."
In a speech leavened with not-so-subtle cautions for longtime ally
Turkey, Aliyev told Azerbaijan’s National Security Council on April 6
that Baku is "tracing potential geopolitical shifts in the region and
we are taking relevant measures."
Aliyev added that Azerbaijan’s oil and gas export policy will remain
"flexible" and driven by national interests — an apparent thinly
veiled reminder to Turkey about Baku’s ability to choose between
Turkey-based and Russia-based supply routes for its hydrocarbon
products.
He added that "Azerbaijan has never interfered and will never
interfere with [the] bilateral ties of other countries," Turan news
agency reported.
Aliyev earlier snubbed an offer to participate in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization’s Dialogue of Civilizations held on April 6 in
Turkey.
Posted April 7, 2009 © Eurasianet