DEFENSE MINISTER ABIYEV DISCUSSES CASPIAN SEA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 001432 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2020 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS PTER AJ PBTS IR RU SUBJECT: DEFENSE MINISTER ABIYEV DISCUSSES CASPIAN SEA NAVAL BUILDUP; NASOSNAYA WITH GENERAL WARD Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse per 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During a September 21 meeting with the Ambassador and visiting EUCOM Deputy Commander General William "Kip" Ward, Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Sabir Abiyev expressed concern that Russia and Iran are building up their naval forces in the Caspian Sea. Abiyev complained about Iranian economic support for Armenia, and that Russia plans to transport spent Iranian nuclear fuel through Azerbaijan. Abiyev said that Azerbaijan is waiting to designate the Nasosonya airbase as the NATO IPAP airbase until "after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" is resolved. Abiyev thanked Ward for USG and DoD assistance to the Azerbaijani military and expressed a desire that this cooperation continue and be enhanced. END SUMMARY. CASPIAN SEA NAVAL BUILDUP -------------- ¶2. (C) During a September 21 meeting with Ambassador and visiting Deputy EUCOM Commander General Ward, Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Abiyev expressed concern about what he characterized as an ongoing naval buildup in the Caspian Sea. He said that Iran had recently inaugurated five rocket boats in the south Caspian Sea. Of these, four boats had the capacity to destroy a target at 65 kilometers and the fifth had the capacity to destroy a target at 120 kilometers. He said that Russia has also recently begun reenhancing their Caspian naval forces. Abiyev said that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov told him that Russia had recently brought a large rocket ship online in the Caspian. Additionally, Abiyev said that Russia planned to transfer some of its naval forces from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. RUSSIA-IRAN-ARMENIA RELATIONS -------------- ¶3. (C) In the context of a wider discussion about the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict, Abiyev noted that Iran maintains close relations with individuals in the occupied territories. Abiyev also noted with some consternation that Iran was fully financing a hydroelectric power plant on the Araz River that will provide power to Armenia. Abiyev said that Armenia was contributing no financing to the project. Finally, Abiyev noted that he had recently learned that Russia plans to transport Iranian spent nuclear fuel back to Russia via Azerbaijan. He claimed that 30 per cent of this fuel would then be sold to Armenia. NASOSNAYA -------------- ¶4. (C) When the subject turned to Nasosnaya and the possibility of formally designating this base as the base which would be upgraded to NATO standards under Azerbaijan's Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP),Abiyev said that a concrete decision on Nasosnaya has not been made. Asked when a decision would be made Abiyev replied that Azerbaijan will "work on Nasosnya when the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is solved." TRAINING AND STATE OF AZERBAIJANI MILITARY -------------- ¶5. (C) Abiyev thanked General Ward for the support that Azerbaijan has received from the USG and the Department of Defense. He said that Azerbaijan currently has eight different bilateral programs with the U.S. which are very productive. He said that Azerbaijani military officers are receiving education in four NATO members states and that 1,000 military officers are taking part in NATO-related activities abroad, in addition to the 25-30 officers who are undergoing military training in the United States. Abiyev expressed a keen interest in increasing and intensifying the military-to-military cooperation. Finally, he added that currently one of the biggest problems that is faced by the Azerbaijani military, after Armenia, was disease, claiming that several military personnel die each year as a result of disease (NFI). ¶6. (C) General Ward expressed his thanks to Abiyev for the close cooperation between the MoD and DoD and complimented BAKU 00001432 002 OF 002 Abiyev about the Azerbaijani troops he visited in Baku. Ward expressed a desire to discuss further Iranian activities in the south Caspian Sea when the two meet again. ¶7. (U) This message has not been cleared with General Ward. DERSE