Paper speculates about goals of US general’s visit to Azerbaijan
Ayna, Baku
2 Jun 05
Excerpt from report by Casur in Azerbaijani newspaper Ayna on 2 June
headlined “Charles Wald again inspected Azerbaijan”
The deputy commander of the United States European Command, Charles
Wald, started a visit to Azerbaijan yesterday. US Senator Chuck
Hagel and other politicians are also visiting the country. Following
Azerbaijan, they will visit Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine.
The Nagornyy Karabakh conflict was a priority at the meeting between a
delegation led by Wald and Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov. The
speaker said that resolutions adopted by international organizations
and the UN had not been implemented.
“Even though international organizations denounced the aggressor
[Armenia], no sanctions have been imposed against Armenia,” Alasgarov
said and asked the USA as a country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group to
mediate a speedy solution to the conflict. Gen Wald expressed the hope
that the conflict would be resolved in the near future. Representatives
of the US European Command also expressed their satisfaction with the
Azerbaijani peacekeepers’ activities in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The guests then met Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev. The
meeting was also attended by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
James McDougal.
The minister recalled at the meeting that Azerbaijan was continuing
its cooperation with the USA in the economic, political and military
spheres. The minister briefed the guests on the current military
and political situation in the South Caucasus and said that Armenia
was conducting aggressive policy in the region, the ministry’s press
service reported.
“We want a peaceful solution to the conflict. Therefore, aggressor
Armenia should be urged to withdraw its forces from Azerbaijan. Let
them not prompt us to resort to other methods. We trust our forces,”
the minister said and expressed the Azerbaijani people’s concern over
the fact that Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act [bans direct US
aid to the Azerbaijani government] had not yet been repealed.
Wald expressed support for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
[Passage omitted: guests were received by President Ilham Aliyev]
Wald’s name is often mentioned in reports concerning the plans to
deploy US rapid-reaction forces in Azerbaijan. Wald visited Azerbaijan
two months ago previous time. At the time his visit was linked to
the deployment of the US mobile forces in Azerbaijan in view of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline’s security and to the search for an
optimum way of resolving the problem of the Qabala radar station.
The Defence Ministry has denied these issues were discussed at the
meetings.
“The meeting between Charles Wald and the minister did not focus on
the deployment of US military bases in Azerbaijan,” the head of the
Defence Ministry press service, Ramiz Malikov, told Ayna.
Military expert Uzeyir Cafarov did not rule out that the stationing of
rapid-reaction forces in Azerbaijan had been discussed at the meeting.
“The time of preparing Azerbaijan for certain decisions has already
passed. We have reached a point where we should show a political will
and make political decisions,” Cafarov said.
He thinks that the visit of the US delegation is aimed at clarifying
Azerbaijan’s final position.
“I think that Baku will express openly its readiness to cooperate with
Washington in all issues. Otherwise, the USA’s military and political
attitude toward Azerbaijan might change,” Cafarov said and added that
Azerbaijan had to fulfil its commitments concerning its integration
into NATO.
“If we have chosen this path, then we have to fulfil the requirements
of integration into NATO like our commitments to the Council of
Europe,” he said.
Experts believe that the USA wants Azerbaijan to weaken its ties
with Russia. Cafarov said that Azerbaijan’s intensive cooperation
with the USA and NATO might help the country live through difficult
times without losses. Wald also thinks so.