BAKU, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijani political experts reacted swiftly to the decision of NATO’s Supreme Command to cancel the exercises, dubbed Cooperative Best Effort 2004 that were scheduled to start today in Azerbaijan as part of Partnership for Peace program (PfP) after the official Baku refused entry visas to Armenian officers to travel to Azerbaijan’s capital.
Last Friday, the Azeri parliament sent a message to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer protesting the inclusion of Armenian soldiers and warning it could inflame tensions in the region and harm relations between Azerbaijan and the Atlantic alliance. President Ilham Aliyev also reportedly opposed the inclusion of the soldiers.
An ex-foreign minister Tofik Zulfugarov argued that NATO’s decision was “biased” and was taken without taking into account the existing realities of the region. “Though the decision is an unpleasant event for Azerbaijan it has prompted decision-makers to once again think about specific conditions of the region … Azerbaijan is the victim of Armenia’s aggression and this fact should not be ignored by those organizations, which are trying to create an illusion that there is no occupation and no refugees” he was quoted by Turan news agency as saying.
According to another political analyst, Zardusht Alizade, all the clamor around the exercises has in fact no relation to patriotism and struggle for liberation of Karabagh and furthermore, it will sustain huge damages to Azerbaijan. He said that the arrival of Armenian officers would have no impact on the Karabagh problem. “Azeris should not have raised all this noise, it was a stupid and absolutely non-constructive position.” He said that Azerbaijan has lost all opportunities to express its positions internationally, implicating also that the country’s leadership is trying to please Russia to prove its ability to keep the conflict frozen.
Eldar Namazov, another political analysts, said the refusal of Azerbaijan to accept Armenian officers was regretful, adding that its aftereffects will eventually affect Azerbaijan’s image.
According to an independent military observer, Uzeir Jafarov, the first such incident in the history of PfP exercises is evidence that NATO will revise Azerbaijan’s participation in its programs.
But according to political analyst Vafa Quluzada, the cancellation of the exercises will not affect Azerbaijani-NATO relations. “Azerbaijan and Armenia are at war and this is obvious to NATO that failed to realize that the Azerbaijani people would not be indifferent to this,” he said, adding that NATO will respect Azerbaijan even more and understand that the two countries should not be kept in a state of war. “NATO enjoys big powers and can play an important role in putting an end to this aggression against Azerbaijan immediately,” he said.
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