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Angry At Turkey, Energy-Rich Azerbaijan May Spurn West

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  • Angry At Turkey, Energy-Rich Azerbaijan May Spurn West

    ANGRY AT TURKEY, ENERGY-RICH AZERBAIJAN MAY SPURN WEST

    By Asbarez Staff
    Nov 30th, 2009

    BAKU (AFP)-On a windswept hilltop looking down at the Azerbaijani
    capital Baku, Turkish flags flutter over a monument that testifies to
    decades of close ties between the two nations. Surrounding an obelisk
    bearing the Turkish crescent and star, stone blocks carry the names
    of dozens of Turkish soldiers who died while fighting for Azerbaijan's
    independence before it was absorbed into the Soviet Union in 1922.

    For Turks and Azerbaijanis, who share close ethnic and linguistic
    roots, the monument is a symbol of what officials in both countries
    frequently describe as "brotherly" relations.

    So it came as a shock when Azerbaijan - angry over Ankara's efforts at
    reconciliation with Armenia - removed the Turkish flags flying over the
    monument in October. After some soothing words from Ankara, the flags
    soon returned. But anger at Turkey is running deep in Azerbaijan,
    and tensions are threatening not only a partnership that has been
    crucial for both countries, but also Western interests in an area of
    great strategic importance.

    Diplomats and analysts say resentment in Azerbaijan is aimed not
    only at NATO member Turkey for pursuing ties with Armenia, but also
    at the United States and Europe for pushing Ankara towards a deal.

    That could see Azerbaijan turn away from nearly two decades of looking
    to the West, threatening vital energy supplies to Europe and sowing
    further instability in the volatile South Caucasus region between
    Russia and Iran.

    "It's not only Azerbaijan whose interests are put at risk by this
    'abruptive,' not carefully prepared... rapprochement between Turkey
    and Armenia," Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told
    AFP in an interview.

    The interests of Europe and the United States also stand to suffer,
    he said, while warning that "reactions from Azerbaijan will be even
    more harsh" if Turkey ratifies a deal to establish diplomatic ties
    and open its border with Armenia.

    At the center of the dispute is the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which
    was trapped under Soviet Azeri rule for seventy years until it declared
    independence from the Soviet Union in the early 90s.

    Azerbaijan launched a war against Karabakh after the mountainous
    region claimed its freedom. The war ended in a cease-fire in 1994,
    with Karabakh's indigenous Armenian population in control of their
    territory.

    Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh have been
    stalled for years and tensions remain high, with frequent fighting
    and deadly shootings along a fragile cease-fire line.

    Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
    Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict, and Baku insists the border
    should not re-open until Armenia agrees to return liberated territories
    in Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. The United States and Europe had
    pushed for Ankara to reach a deal with Armenia earlier, making it
    appear that Baku's interests have been set aside, said Vladimir Socor,
    a regional expert with the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation.

    "Azerbaijan is justifiably irritated with Western policy on this
    issue," he said. "Azerbaijan correctly feels that its own security
    concerns and the Karabakh issue are simply not being taken into
    account to a sufficient degree, if at all, by the United States and
    by the major European powers."

    Socor said that by ignoring Azerbaijan's interests, Western powers
    are jeopardizing years of effort to gain influence in the strategic
    Caucasus region and to tap the vast energy reserves of the Caspian Sea.

    Since gaining its independence with the Soviet collapse in 1991,
    Azerbaijan has been at the heart of Western efforts to transport oil
    and gas from the Caspian to Europe, decreasing Western reliance on
    Russian supplies.

    Baku is the starting point for two major pipelines carrying oil and
    gas from the Caspian, through Georgia and Turkey, to hungry European
    consumers. Efforts are underway to expand the network into Central
    Asia, and Azerbaijan is also considered a key potential supplier for
    the European Union's flagship Nabucco gas pipeline.

    But in the wake of the Armenia-Turkey deal, Azerbaijan has threatened
    to seek alternative export routes and in recent months has signed
    new supply deals with both Russia and Iran.

    Azimov, the deputy foreign minister, said the West needs to realize
    that pushing for a deal between Turkey and Armenia without taking
    Baku's interests into account will have consequences. "The question
    that needs to be asked is: Are we important? And if we are, then issues
    have to be solved in a way providing for all interests," he said.

    Among the Azerbaijani public, emotions are running high and analysts
    say the government will be under pressure to make sure Baku's demands
    are not ignored.

    Near to the hilltop memorial to slain Turkish soldiers, pensioner
    Ismael Mammedov expressed the frustration - and confusion - that
    many Azerbaijanis are feeling over Ankara's move. "I don't understand
    this, Turkey and Azerbaijan are supposed to be like brothers," said
    Mammedov. "How can they abandon us?"

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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