Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BAKU: USA treats ex-Soviet Union "separatist" regimes differently -A

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • BAKU: USA treats ex-Soviet Union "separatist" regimes differently -A

    USA treats ex-Soviet Union separatist regimes differently - Azeri politicians

    Ekho, Baku
    31 Aug 04

    The USA is not planning to impose sanctions on Nagornyy Karabakh,
    the US embassy to Azerbaijan has told Ekho. As our newspaper has
    already reported, the US State Department has imposed restrictions
    on giving visas to 10 more representatives of the separatist Dniester
    regime in Moldova. The European Union also imposed similar sanctions
    on the Dniester separatists.

    Late last week Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry told Ekho that it was
    ready to prepare a list of Karabakh separatists and ask foreign
    countries to impose sanctions against them.

    The US embassy said that sanctions on the Dniester representatives
    were aimed against a campaign launched [in the unrecognized Dniester
    republic] to ban Moldovan schools and also isolate [Moldovan] orphans
    in orphanages.

    "The sanctions have been imposed in connection with the situation
    developed in the Dniester region. It is not connected with Nagornyy
    Karabakh [as published]," the embassy said.

    The Azerbaijani public's reaction to the statement by the US
    embassy has been mixed. Tamerlan Qarayev, head of the Karabakh
    House organization and former Azerbaijani ambassador to China, said
    that official Baku may assess the statement as an unfriendly act
    and support for separatism. Qarayev said that the arguments given
    in the statement by the US embassy give no grounds for rejecting
    Azerbaijan's calls. "If the American authorities have imposed sanctions
    on Dniester separatists in response to the closure of Moldovan schools,
    [they have to consider that] an ethnic cleansing has been carried
    out in Karabakh," he said. But Qarayev found it difficult to answer
    the question whether Washington's avoiding Azerbaijan's appeal can
    chill the relationship between the two countries.

    Alimammad Nuriyev, chairman of the parliamentary national security
    and defence committee, expressed regret that the US embassy had
    made a statement like this. As far as Nuriyev knows, Azerbaijan's
    Foreign Ministry had planned to appeal to the US State Department [on
    imposition of sanctions on Nagornyy Karabakh]. Nuriyev said that the
    USA and the West approach the separatists of Karabakh, the Dniester
    region and those of South Ossetia in different ways. "These kinds
    of statements by the [US] embassy can undermine intergovernmental
    relations. Furthermore, [US] refusal to impose sanctions can
    prompt the separatists in Karabakh to step up their activities,"
    he noted. Nuriyev said that these kinds of statements were further
    complicating the Karabakh conflict.

    However, the MP insists that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
    should prepare a list of Karabakh separatists and sent it to the
    US authorities so that the latter impose sanctions on them. Nuriyev
    suggests that Azerbaijan voice its position on the issue after hearing
    back from official Washington.

    Ramiz Ahmadov, an MP and leader of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan,
    told Ekho that "it was because of the US position that the Karabakh
    conflict had not been resolved so far". Ahmadov said that Washington
    was not interested in the settlement of the conflict. He believes that
    the great powers are making use of the Karabakh conflict for their
    own interests. Ahmadov said that the USA underhandedly supported the
    Armenian interests. Furthermore, he said, the fact that the US embassy
    refuses to consider Azerbaijan's appeal obviously shows that Washington
    is not interested in stability in the South Caucasus. Ahmadov believes
    that if the USA refuses Azerbaijan's suggestion, it will negatively
    affect relations between the two countries.
Working...
X