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WHAT WASN'T SAID IN BAKU: THOMAS DE WAAL
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/729518/what-wasn%E2%80%99t-said-in-baku-thomas-de-waal.html
16:58, 16 August, 2013
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS: Vladimir Putin's one-day visit to Baku
on August 13 was fertile ground for Kremlinological speculation. This
was published by the senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment Thomas
de Waal, specializing primarily in the South Caucasus region comprising
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and their breakaway territories as
well as the wider Black Sea region.
As reported by Armenpress, Thomas de Waal wrote: "Despite professions
of friendship and love by both sides and President Aliyev's declaration
that "We have very similar positions on all issues," the formal part
of the negotiations, unsurprisingly, revealed very little.
So it is more productive to focus on who was not in Baku and what
was not said.
There was no mention of the Gabala radar station, which the Russians
were forced to abandon last year. The very fact of the Putin visit
meant that Russia considered that episode closed. Putin uttered
only a one-line reference to resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
which for a while was the Number One foreign policy initiative of
his predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev-making it obvious once again that
this is an issue that does not especially interest him.
Conspicuously missing from Putin's large delegation was the head of
Gazprom, Alexey Miller. Instead it was Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft,
who signed a grandiose cooperation agreement with the Azerbaijani
state oil company, SOCAR. Rosneft has been seeking a piece of the
Absheron gas field and the Russians must have left disappointed that
they got no more than a generally worded cooperation agreement.
A few other important words did not get uttered in the meetings.
One was "America." The very fact of a Russian head of state arriving
in Baku with half a dozen ministers in tow reminded the Azerbaijanis
where they should put their priorities. A second was "Armenia." One
reason for the visit, with all its talk of Azerbaijani-Russian
military cooperation, was to make the Armenians nervous and think more
seriously about joining Putin's Customs Union. (One prominent face
in the Russian delegation was the head of Russia's defense export
company Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaykin. Aliyev said publicly that
military cooperation with Russia is worth four billion dollars.)
A third missing word that hung over the whole visit was "elections."
Aliyev runs for a third presidential term on October 9. This time the
normally incompetent Azerbaijani opposition has nominated someone
of real stature, well-known film maker Rustam Ibrahimbekov, to be
its unity candidate. However, in order to compete, Ibrahimbekov must
renounce the Russian part of his dual citizenship, a procedure which
has handed the Russian authorities a de facto veto on his participation
in the poll. Nothing had to be said on this-both sides knew what the
other wanted".
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/729518/what-wasn%E2%80%99t-said-in-baku-thomas-de-waal.html
16:58, 16 August, 2013
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS: Vladimir Putin's one-day visit to Baku
on August 13 was fertile ground for Kremlinological speculation. This
was published by the senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment Thomas
de Waal, specializing primarily in the South Caucasus region comprising
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and their breakaway territories as
well as the wider Black Sea region.
As reported by Armenpress, Thomas de Waal wrote: "Despite professions
of friendship and love by both sides and President Aliyev's declaration
that "We have very similar positions on all issues," the formal part
of the negotiations, unsurprisingly, revealed very little.
So it is more productive to focus on who was not in Baku and what
was not said.
There was no mention of the Gabala radar station, which the Russians
were forced to abandon last year. The very fact of the Putin visit
meant that Russia considered that episode closed. Putin uttered
only a one-line reference to resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
which for a while was the Number One foreign policy initiative of
his predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev-making it obvious once again that
this is an issue that does not especially interest him.
Conspicuously missing from Putin's large delegation was the head of
Gazprom, Alexey Miller. Instead it was Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft,
who signed a grandiose cooperation agreement with the Azerbaijani
state oil company, SOCAR. Rosneft has been seeking a piece of the
Absheron gas field and the Russians must have left disappointed that
they got no more than a generally worded cooperation agreement.
A few other important words did not get uttered in the meetings.
One was "America." The very fact of a Russian head of state arriving
in Baku with half a dozen ministers in tow reminded the Azerbaijanis
where they should put their priorities. A second was "Armenia." One
reason for the visit, with all its talk of Azerbaijani-Russian
military cooperation, was to make the Armenians nervous and think more
seriously about joining Putin's Customs Union. (One prominent face
in the Russian delegation was the head of Russia's defense export
company Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaykin. Aliyev said publicly that
military cooperation with Russia is worth four billion dollars.)
A third missing word that hung over the whole visit was "elections."
Aliyev runs for a third presidential term on October 9. This time the
normally incompetent Azerbaijani opposition has nominated someone
of real stature, well-known film maker Rustam Ibrahimbekov, to be
its unity candidate. However, in order to compete, Ibrahimbekov must
renounce the Russian part of his dual citizenship, a procedure which
has handed the Russian authorities a de facto veto on his participation
in the poll. Nothing had to be said on this-both sides knew what the
other wanted".