BAKU LOOKS DOWN ON KREMLIN TOWER?
By Armen Gevorgyan
news.am
Nov 11 2009
Armenia
"The GUAM and Baltic states have common goals and interests, and we do
not rule out closer cooperation with this organization," President of
the Baltic Assembly (BA) Mantas Adomenas stated in Tbilisi, Georgia,
yesterday.
We would remind you that the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly finished its
4th session in Tbilisi yesterday. Baltic Assembly representatives took
part in the forum for the first time. GUAM and BA adopted a communiqué
on political, economic, energy and security cooperation. Mr. Adomenas
believes bilateral cooperation is important for cooperation in Europe.
Referring to Azeri mass media, NEWS.am reported that a document on the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem was adopted at the session. The essence of
the document remains unclear. It is also unclear what such a country
as Estonia has to do with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The weight
of the document on Nagorno-Karabakh is tantamount to the political
weight of GUAM and its member-states.
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, which are going through a severe domestic
political crisis (in the last case the Parliament has not been able
to elect the President for several months), as well as Azerbaijan,
which joined the organization with its domestic political problems,
are an instance of complete lack of coordination, like the heroes of
a fable by Russian fabulist Ivan Krylov: "Upward strains the swan,
the crab keeps stepping back, the pike is for the pond". The Baltic
Assembly members, especially Poland, are apparently supposed to
"set the tone" for GUAM’s further actions.
What "common goals and interests" can Azerbaijan and Poland have?
After various energy projects aimed to "leave Russia holding a bag"
failed, only the political agenda has remained. The aims of the Baltic
States and Poland have well been studied and described by experts.
Will Ilham Aliyev, as GUM member, succeed in telling the Kremlin the
same old story about Russian Azerbaijani strategic partnership?
Obviously not! Rather Azerbaijan might as well become Moscow’s partner
as the other GUAM members – Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova (the last with
its new pro-Romanian Government), as well as the Washington-appointed
partners, Poland and the Baltic states. Of course, it is all the
same for Azerbaijan where to raise the Nagorno-Karabakh problem —
even UNICEF is a "suitable arena."
Azerbaijani politicians should realize, however, that by signing
documents on GUAM’s integration with the Baltic Assembly they actually
put their signatures to their new partners’ priorities – ousting
Russia from certain regions, projecting bypass transport corridors,
revising history in favor of nationalist fascism, etc..
As a member of the GUAM-BA alliance, Azerbaijan cannot rely on
Russia’s confidence.