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BAKU: American Politician Considers Baku's Criticism Against Mediato

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  • BAKU: American Politician Considers Baku's Criticism Against Mediato

    AMERICAN POLITICIAN CONSIDERS BAKU'S CRITICISM AGAINST MEDIATORS AS TACTICAL STEP

    Trend News Agency
    April 1 2008
    Azerbaijan

    Azerbaijan, Baku, 1 April /Trend News/ "Sharp criticism by Baku
    against the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen, especially the USA, is a
    tactical step to strengthen the support for Azerbaijan's position,"
    said Zeyno Baran, Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy of
    Hudson Institute.

    The UN General Assembly's adoption of the Resolution on
    Nagorno-Karabakh 'was a response to the declaration of Kosovo's
    independence and the large support it gained from the West,' Zeyno
    Baran said in his interview with Armenian Mediamax news agency.

    " Baku is concerned that Kosovo will be used as a precedent and
    Georgia shares this concern. Thus, this Resolution can be considered
    as a policy to 'forestall' such development of the events.

    Furthermore, I think that taking into consideration the fact that
    Russia uses the issue of precedent of Kosovo with regards to Abkhazia
    and South Ossetia, Baku (and Tbilisi) wanted to gain confirmation
    that Kosovo will be considered as a unique case and to see how the
    Russians will vote," the American politician said.

    According to her, concerns are growing in Azerbaijan that the West
    unfairly approaches it because it is a Muslim country. " Azerbaijan
    sees how the USA decisively supports the territorial integrity of
    Georgia, but does not see the same attitude towards itself. Of
    course, considering the fact that the USA is the co-chairman country
    of the OSCE Minsk Group, the American Government cannot hold any
    other position on Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, it is difficult
    for the ordinary Azerbaijanis to understand this difference. Many
    Azerbaijanis consider that Azerbaijan is an important ally of the USA
    with regards to the energy security, its fight against terrorism and
    other issues, but does not receive much in reply. However, I think
    that officials and large part of the Azerbaijani society accept the
    importance of partnership with the USA and will not allow the
    Resolution to bring harm to relations between Baku and Washington,"
    Baran said.

    Azerbaijan recently appealed to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna to
    know the procedures of appointing and recalling the co-chairmen of
    the OSCE Minsk Group. The local media sources report that it is
    caused by the dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani Government with the
    issue that the co-chairman countries (the USA, France and Russia)
    voted against the adoption of the Resolution on the Situation in
    Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan during the session of the UN
    General Assembly on 14 March.

    The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in
    1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia
    has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the
    Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Since
    1992 to the present time, these territories have been under Armenian
    occupation. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire
    agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs
    of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are holding
    peaceful negotiations.
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