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OIC, BSEC, GUAM: Azerbaijan Entangled With Foreign-Policy Partners

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  • OIC, BSEC, GUAM: Azerbaijan Entangled With Foreign-Policy Partners

    OIC, BSEC, GUAM: AZERBAIJAN ENTANGLED WITH FOREIGN-POLICY PARTNERS
    Armen Gevorgyan

    news.am
    Nov 10 2009
    Armenia

    President Ilham Aliyev has actually boycotted the sitting of
    the Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation,
    Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), in Istanbul. Deputy Minister
    of Economic Development Sevinj Gasanova is representing Azerbaijan,
    which is unequivocal evidence of deeper political disagreements between
    Baku and Ankara. The other OIC member-states are represented by the
    Presidents and Prime Ministers.

    What is more, Azerbaijani Vice-Premier Abid Sharifov attended a
    reception at the Turkish Embassy in Baku on the occasion of Turkey's
    Independence Day, while President Ilham Aliyev visited a Russian
    village in one of the regions thereby trying to suggest a threat of
    Baku's "geopolitical turn."

    It is worth recalling Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's statement
    during his recent visit to Kuwait. The Armenian leader stated that
    Azerbaijan is manipulating the OIC member-states, trying to cash in on
    religious solidarity. "A lack of awareness of the Artsakh problem,
    Azerbaijan's impermissible attempts to cash in on the factor of
    religious solidarity often result in wrong decisions made by the
    Organization of Islamic Conference," the Armenian leader stated at
    his meeting with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber
    Al-Sabah.

    In this respect, the Azeri leaders not participating in the Istanbul
    sitting meets Armenia's interests. The participants themselves will
    be able to understand the policy of Azerbaijan, which is trying to
    reap dividends from the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process irrespective of
    the international agencies' aims. It is common knowledge that even the
    projects implemented by the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization
    (BSEC), which aims at creating conditions for the region's economic
    and communication integration, encounter obstacles set by Azerbaijan.

    President Aliyev's visit to the Russian village is a "touching" signal
    for Moscow: "if our Turkish brothers are befooling us, we are ready
    to befool them in a team with Russians." Aliyev has made initial
    steps by signing a contract for the supply is a symbolic amount of
    gas to Russia with Gasprom. The Azeri leader must have thought that
    his step would help him to gain Moscow's favor to an extent that it
    would revise its position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its
    relations with Armenia. We see, however, that Russia is among the
    key lobbyists for the unblocking of the Armenian-Russian border,
    as it is in Armenia, rather than in Azerbaijan, that Russia has its
    only military base in the region, which is actually blocked as well.

    Russia has actually created a powerful energy basis in Armenia and is
    preparing for exporting energy to Turkey. Russia is getting ready to
    open a window on Iran in Armenia. And, finally, Russia will participate
    in a nuclear-power plant construction project in Armenia.

    The "anti-Russian" Transcaspian gas pipeline, which has not so far
    been constructed, may well run southward, to Armenia through Iran,
    and will thus serve the interests of Armenia and Russia - and,
    incidentally, of Turkey.

    So President Ilham Aliyev can be advised to visit a Georgian village
    when the OIC holds its next meeting. Azerbaijan, with its limited gas
    reserves and lack of direct communication with Central Asia, appears
    to be of interest to Georgia alone. We would like to warn the Azeri
    leader against visiting Kvemo Kartli, which is part of the Georgian
    territory. Azerbaijan is known to respect that country's territorial
    integrity, Georgia being Azerbaijan's partner within GUAM.
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