Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

[hipeter924]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Azerbaijan by improving it's bilateral relations with Israel is placing it's self at odds with both Iran and the Arabs.

That's good. It only makes Azeri's and Turk's more distanced from Iran, and puts Armenia in a better position as a close friend of Iran.

[retro]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

That's good. It only makes Azeri's and Turk's more distanced from Iran, and puts Armenia in a better position as a close friend of Iran.

A third of the population of Iran are Turkic Azeris and Iran like all multi-ethic former imperial states, fears separatism and enforces integration.

Iran is actually a important export market for European goods and the volume of trade between western Asia and Europe is really not what it could be. Armenia really needs to develop it's service sector and act as a distribution hub and Caucasus trading corridor.

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs


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Attempt to mass suicide prevented in centre of Baku - PHOTO
17 June 2009 [17:55] - Today.Az
A 30-people group's attempt to suicide was prevented near the Taza Bazar (New Market) trade centre in Baku on June 17.

They have been taken to the police department 21 of the Nasimi District.

According to witnesses, the group of people sought to commit suicide, by climbing to the 7th floor of a new building near the Taza Bazar trade centre in the afternoon.

There were children and women amongst them who are members of the family and relatives of the prisoner businessman Chingiz Mailov from Azerbaijan's Goychay region. They demanded discharging Mailov from the prison and stopping the police's pressure on him.

/Trend News/

URL: http://www.today.az/news/society/53203.html

[Pazooki]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Damnit! Why was it prevented?

[jgk3]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

You know... to show that Armenian propaganda and mind control on Azeri citizens could be averted.

[hipeter924]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

You know... to show that Armenian propaganda and mind control on Azeri citizens could be averted.

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Iran Recalls Ambassador to Azerbaijan Over Israeli President Visit

JERUSALEM (REUTERS)–Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan was summoned for consultations on Monday following a high-level visit to Baku by Israeli President Shimon Peres that same day.

The envoy was recalled due to both the nature of Peres’ visit and the unspecified “threats” Israel’s ambassador in Baku has voiced towards Iran.

Two weeks ago, Iran’s chief of staff Maj. Gen. Hasan Firuzabadi visited Azerbaijan in an effort to preclude the Israeli President’s visit, informing Baku that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted the meeting to be cancelled.

But the Azeris refused, stating that just as Baku has never tried to interfere with Tehran’s ties with Armenia, despite the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Tehran should refrain from interfering with their ties with Israel.

“Azerbaijan has proven that it is a true friend of Israel,” said Peres on Monday, “and I am happy that, despite the grave threats from Iran aimed at canceling and sabotaging my visit, Azerbaijan did not succumb to the pressure and decided to enhance its strategic relations with Israel.”

Peres visited Kazakhstan Tuesday for a meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Despite claiming that he would not raise the issue of the imprisoned Israeli businessman Dr. Boris Sheinkman, Peres touched on the sensitive subject and requested the prisoner’s release, according to Israel’s Globes Online.

Sheinkman, 62, was arrested by Kazakhstan’s secret service three months ago on allegations of bribing senior defense officials in order to promote deals with Israeli defense firms. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Defense Minister Kazhimurat Mayermanov was said to have taken bribes from Israeli companies, and was subsequently arrested as well.

http://www.asbarez.com/2009/06/30/iran-recalls-ambassador-to-azerbaijan-over-israeli-president-visit/

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

In Baku, Israeli President Offers Support for Azeri Position on Karabakh


BAKU (Eurasianet)–Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, wrapped up a landmark visit to Azerbaijan on June 29, during which he endorsed Baku’s efforts to take control of the independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Peres’ two-day visit yielded intergovernmental agreements covering cultural and educational cooperation, and produced discussion on ways to expand trade. But underlying the trip was the matter of oil. Azerbaijan has emerged as a major supplier of energy for Israel, in particular about 20 percent of the Middle Eastern state’s oil needs.

From Baku’s perspective, the Peres visit highlighted the benefits of strengthening bilateral ties. As the Israeli president’s endorsement for Azerbaijan’s position on Karabakh underscored, President Ilham Aliyev’s administration in Baku is discovering that Israel can be a valuable source of political support.

Israel’s backing could prove especially useful for Azerbaijan in the ongoing public relations battle in the United States and Europe surrounding the Karabakh peace process. Peres in Baku encouraged Azerbaijan to develop closer relations not only with Israel, but also with xxxish communities and organizations abroad, especially in the United States. “We [Israel and the xxxish Diaspora] will do all we can to support Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” Peres said. He went on to urge Baku to open an embassy in Israel.

Asim Mollazade, an MP and member of an Israeli-Azerbaijani inter-parliamentary group, indicated that Baku would be following Peres’ advice to court xxxish Diaspora organizations. “International xxxish organizations could provide significant political support to Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue,” the MP said.

Azerbaijani officials are also interested in bolstering ties to Israel’s arms industry. “Israel is among the few countries that could supply unmanned aircrafts, anti-missile defense neutralization systems and other modern military equipment to Azerbaijan,” said Rasim Musabekov, a Baku-based political analyst.

Beyond energy exports, Baku can offer Israel political support of its own, Musabekov added. “Azerbaijan is a secular Muslim country and it is important for Israel to have good relations with it,” he said in an interview with EurasiaNet on June 28.

Peres in Baku noted the “atmosphere of tolerance” in Azerbaijan and thanked the Aliyev administration for the “good conditions of the xxxish community in the country.” In a television interview on the eve of his arrival in Baku, Peres described Azerbaijan as a model for “mutual trust and respect between the Muslims and xxxs.”

Conservative Muslims in Baku were not so welcoming of Peres, however. In the weeks leading up to his arrival, various leaders of conservative Islamic groups criticized the Azerbaijani government for rolling out the red carpet for an Israeli head of state. Much of the criticism was connected to events in the West Bank and Gaza. Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, the imam of the Juma religious community, insisted Peres’ trip was a source of “shame and dishonor” for the Azerbaijani government.

On June 23, residents of the town of Nardaran, a bastion of religious conservatism, held a protest. In addition, a picket was carried out on June 27 outside of the Foreign Ministry’s building in Baku. Police quickly dispersed about 200 protesters.

Hardliners in Iran were also outspoken in their criticism of the Peres trip, but Azerbaijani officials pushed back. Ali Hasanov, head of the political department of the presidential administration, pointed out that Iran and Armenia have strong ties. “Our policy toward Iran is that there should not be threat from Iranian territory to Azerbaijan and vice-versa,” Hasanov told EurasiaNet in early June.

Hasanov went on to vigorously defend Baku from domestic critics. “Azerbaijan’s policy is adequate towards the positive and negative sides of Israeli policy,” Hasanov said. “Baku has condemned Israel for [the violence in the] Palestinian territories many times. However, it [such criticism] is not a reason not to develop relations with Israel.”

From Baku, Peres was due to travel to Kazakhstan, where he was scheduled to hold talks with President Nursultan Nazarbayev and other officials, as well as attend an inter-faith conference.

Meanwhile, Iranian news agencies reported Monday that, Tehran recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan over the Israeli President’s visit.

http://www.asbarez.com/2009/06/29/in-baku-israeli-president-offers-support-for-azeri-position-on-karabakh/

[Federate]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Turkmenistan Bigger Problem For Azerbaijan Than Karabakh

The leadership of Azerbaijan keeps insisting that it wants the Nagorno Karabakh problem be solved keeping the territorial integrity of the country intact. Now an expert from Turkey says that the territorial dispute in the Caspian Sea with Turkmenistan is a bigger worry for Azerbaijan than Nagorno Karabakh.

As the talks and negotiations have increased between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the later has not missed a single opportunity to remind the international community that the Nagorno Karabakh issue should be solved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and making the right for self-determination of the Nagorno Karabakah Armenians inferior to that. However, come and see that the international borders of Azerbaijan are also disputed by Turkmenistan, which will take a dispute with Azerbaijan over Caspian oil and gas fields to the International Court of Arbitration.

Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, the head of the Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TÜRKSAM) Sinan Oğan called the issues between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan "a bigger problem." He said that Turkmenistan's decision to sue Azerbaijan in the last minute over the status of the Caspian Sea can create a problem for the Nabucco pipeline's gas supply. “It seems it will be a problem,” he concluded.

This growing problem will be another headache for Azerbaijan and as TURKSAM expert from Turkey called it may create a problem for the Nabucco's gas supply. The feasibility of the Nabucco gas pipeline project depends mostly on the ability to use the Caspian gas.

On July 24, speaking at government meeting, the president of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov slammed Azerbaijan for its "intransigence." "For a long time, mainly because of Azerbaijan's stance, the issue of settling seabed borders, dividing natural resources and defining the boundary line between the two countries has not been resolved," Berdymukhamedov said in televised comments.

According to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet the president of Turkmenistan instructed its Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov to examine the legality of Azerbaijan's claims to disputed offshore fields. He said the case would be taken to the international body and "we will accept any decision on this questions made by the International Court of Arbitration." Azerbaijan has begun unilateral development of disputed oil and gas fields, and is seeking rights to other deposits in the Caspian, Berdymukhamedov said.

Azerbaijan has been in another territorial dispute with Nagorno Karabakh's Republic, which used the right of self-determination and has declared independence after a national referendum. United States, France and Russia are mediating a process hoping to bring about a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. To this date Azerbaijan's actions are hindering the peace process because the country is not willing to recognize the right of self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. However, prolonging the conflict and making occasional war-like statements and now being involved in a new territorial dispute with Turkmenistan (which according to the Turkish political expert is a bigger problem for NABUCCO) will weaken Azerbaijan's position and it may lose more than what the country can achieve today by making honorable peace with Armenia based on mutual compromise.

Otherwise, while Azerbaijan's leadership has not so far explained how a war can bring back Nagorno Karabakh it may seriously endanger its another big project: the NABUCCO. Many European countries are hopeful on NABUCCO's gas supply and will be interested to see Azerbaijan to solve these two disputes in peaceful and swift way.

http://www.huliq.com/1/84692/turkish-expertturkmenistan-bigger-problem-azerbaijan-karabakh

[KanadaHye]

Re: Azerbaijan - Internal Political Affairs

Turkey-Nakhchivan gas pipeline deal agreed

Turkey and Azerbaijan’s Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan have signed a deal to run a gas pipeline from Turkey’s eastern province of Igdir to Nakhchivan.

As Turkish media reports, signing ceremony for the deal took place in Nakhchivan on Saturday when Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız paid an official visit to the region.

The MoU envisions the transportation of 500 million cubic meters of gas a year, Yıldız said at the ceremony.

“This will spell the merging of two peoples. It will be a declaration of the will to strengthen the understanding of ‘one nation, two states,’ [between Azerbaijan and Turkey],” Yıldız was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency in a speech delivered at the ceremony. The minister also noted that relevant technical, commercial and legal negotiations concerning the deal would be carried out by Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

Officials from BOTAŞ and SOCAR will have their first meeting on the issue in Ankara in September. Yıldız, speaking with Anatolia concerning his visit to Nakhchivan, voiced optimism over the future phase of bilateral energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Nakhchivan remains under an economic and political blockade from arch-enemy Armenia, which geographically separates the Azeri exclave from Azerbaijan proper.

http://www.en.apa.az/news.php?id=106034