AZERBAIJAN DELEGATION SNUBS U.S. OVER RIGHTS REPORT
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 23 2007
Azerbaijan on Sunday cancelled a high-level government delegation’s
trip to Washington to protest against a perceived snub by the
U.S. State Department in a human rights report.
The 2006 report initially included a reference to the disputed province
of Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory occupied the country’s
Caucasus neighbor and bitter enemy Armenia. This reference was later
deleted after diplomatic pressure from Yerevan.
The report’s Armenia section now says: "Armenian forces occupy large
portions of Azerbaijani territory adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenian officials maintain that they do not ‘occupy’ Nagorno-Karabakh
itself."
"In relation to the introduction of changes in the initial 2006
text of a U.S. State Department human rights report relating to the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the government of
Azerbaijan has taken the decision to cancel the visit," Azerbaijan’s
foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The introduction of corrections, distorting the essence of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict causes bewilderment
and doubts about the position of the U.S. as an honest broker in the
resolution of the conflict," it said.
A delegation of high-level government officials had been due to arrive
in Washington on Monday for two days of bilateral talks.
The United States said its policy had not changed. "Any interpretation
that our policy regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has changed is
not correct," State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said Sunday. She
said the U.S. was aware of Azerbaijan’s statement announcing the
postponement and was in contact with its government.
"These talks are important and we look forward to them taking place
at the earliest date," Beck said.
On Friday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack also said
there had been no change, adding: "The United States reaffirms its
support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and holds that
the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiations
between the parties."
The United States, Russia and France, under the auspices of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have been
encouraging Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve the conflict for more
than a decade.