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  • BAKU: Belarusian leader cancels meeting with Azeri premier

    Belarusian leader cancels meeting with Azeri premier

    Ekho, Baku
    2 Apr 04

    The Belarusian president's failure to meet the visiting Azerbaijani
    premier is a "political demarche", according to a Belarusian
    commentator. In an interview with Azeri daily Ekho, he said that the
    internal affairs of Belarus were more important for Alyaksandr
    Lukashenka than his country's relations with Azerbaijan. However, the
    Azerbaijani ambassador in Minsk played down talk of political
    manoeuvres. He said that Lukashenka had had to deal with pressing
    problems in Brest Region and so could not meet the Azerbaijani
    premier. The following is an excerpt from R. Orucov and N. Aliyev's
    report in Ekho on 2 April headlined "April fool's 'joke' by
    Lukashenka", subheaded " Belarusian president declines to meet
    Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada ... because of fight against
    corruption", subheadings inserted editorially:

    A three-day visit to Belarus by an Azerbaijani government delegation,
    headed by Prime Minister Artur Rasizada, ended yesterday [1
    April]. The Azerbaijani ambassador to Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova,
    Talat Aliyev, told Ekho that Rasizada had already left Minsk for an
    official visit to Lithuania.

    Belarusian leader declines to meet Azeri premier

    As is known, the prime ministers of the two countries signed numerous
    intergovernmental documents during the Azerbaijani delegation's visit
    to Minsk. They are agreements on free trade, air communications,
    cooperation in geodesy, cartography, land development and land
    registry and a protocol on cooperation between the foreign ministries
    of the two countries. But the most remarkable aspect of the visit was
    the agreements not reached. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
    made a very unusual gesture in terms of normal diplomatic relations -
    he declined to meet Artur Rasizada. The Belarusian presidential
    administration naturally gave the Azerbaijani side their official
    excuses, but it was done too late - on 1 April - when the meeting
    ought to have taken place. All this seems very strange, since the
    Azerbaijani premier's visit to Belarus had been scheduled and endorsed
    a long time before. In any case, the Belarusian news agency MiK quoted
    the country's Foreign Ministry as saying that the Azerbaijani prime
    minister's visit was expected in March. Thus, Lukashenka could have
    reconsidered his plans long before 1 April.

    "We do not have special details why the previously scheduled meeting
    between Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada and Belarusian
    President Alyaksandr Lukashenka did not take place," the Belarusian
    political expert and employee of the Minsk office of Radio Liberty,
    Valeryy Karbalevich, said.

    [Correspondent] Does President Lukashenka often decline to have
    prearranged meetings?

    [Karbalevich] Yes. This happens from time to time. This has happened
    with some Western delegations. It is known that Belarus has quite
    difficult relations with Western countries and, therefore, Lukashenka
    has declined to receive delegations if talks have been difficult and
    not yielded the results expected by Minsk. I can remember such
    incidents with representatives of the World Bank, the International
    Monetary Fund etc. He declined to meet them, despite agreements
    reached on this beforehand.

    Cancelled meeting a political manoeuvre

    This kind of act by Lukashenka is a political demarche. What is behind
    the refusal to meet the Azerbaijani prime minister? It's difficult to
    say. You need to ask Lukashenka himself.

    [Correspondent] Relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan are quite
    cool, in view of the close military cooperation between Minsk and
    Yerevan.

    [Karbalevich] If this is the reason, then the meeting would not have
    been scheduled beforehand. As far as Belarusian-Azerbaijani relations
    are concerned in general, then they are insignificant, minimum, or
    simply zero. Meanwhile, Lukashenka is known to have a high opinion
    about the CIS states. One should bear in mind that Belarus has been
    internationally isolated and not many states are ready to receive
    Lukashenka at home.

    [Correspondent] Lukashenka could not meet the Azerbaijani premier,
    since he was in Brest [southwestern Belarus] apparently on important
    business. What could have been happening place in Brest to urge the
    president to postpone important state issues?

    [Karbalevich] Lukashenka has been in Brest Region for two days. His
    visit is being widely broadcast on TV. But the situation is really
    quite strange. Large-scale corruption and misappropriation were
    suddenly revealed in Brest. A new governor was appointed, although
    nothing extraordinary has ever happened in the region. That region is
    neither worse nor better than any other regions of Belarus. The point
    is that Lukashenka is launching a new political campaign under the
    motto of establishing order and discipline. All this has started from
    Brest Region.

    [Passage omitted: more details of the campaign]

    Avoiding a meeting with Rasizada shows that for Lukashenka the
    campaign is more important than relations with Azerbaijan.

    Azeri officials play down talk of political manoeuvres

    The press services of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and the Cabinet
    of Ministers did not know about this yesterday [1 April]. The Foreign
    Ministry said that Rasizada was part of their department, while the
    Cabinet of Ministers offered to phone the next day.

    Ekho managed to get in touch with a representative of the Azerbaijani
    diplomatic office in Belarus, Ayar Huseynov.

    "According to the information from Belarus, Lukashenka attended an
    extraordinary session in Brest," the diplomat said to explain the
    reason for the incident. Then we spoke to ambassador Talat
    Aliyev. Asked if it President Lukashenka's step should be seen as a
    political demarche by the Belarusian side, the ambassador said: "I
    resolutely disagree with that assessment, since Mr Lukashenka had to
    deal with urgent and pressing issues in Brest Region. He had to hold
    an extraordinary session there and for this reason, had to visit the
    region."

    The ambassador did not agree that Lukashenka's gesture showed that the
    resolution of internal political problems (linked to prolonging the
    term of the presidency) was more important than the development of
    relations with Azerbaijan.

    "I think the Belarusian political expert is mistaken here," Aliyev
    said.

    [Passage omitted: every state figure interested in improving ties with
    other states]

    In turn, independent diplomatic expert Tamerlan Qarayev said that "the
    Minsk incident might not lead to damaging consequences, if Belarus
    gives an appropriate explanation and Azerbaijan accepts it. If the
    explanation is not satisfactory, then this will affect the mutual
    relations between the two countries."

    [Passage omitted: Qarayev thinks this was not a political demarche,
    details of Rasizada's visit to Lithuania]
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